Introducing Me
by coolkitten12
Summary: Who I Am sequel. The gang travel back to Camp Rock after the world tour, but how have things changed between them and what may the summer hold? Unexpected twists, love rivals and plenty of song writing.
1. Scrap Book

**AN: Here it is, the sequel to 'Who I Am.' I strongly recommend you read that story first, otherwise some of the characters, plots etc in this may confuse you. This is set about four months after the end of the 'Who I Am'. The world tour is over and once again its summer time. Follow the gang as they head back to Camp Rock for a summer of drama, music and maybe even a little love.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything, except Eliza and Marie Austen, who are like sisters to me now having written so much about them, plus the ideas and characters you don't recognise. **

**Note: In case it's not clear, the first bit of this chapter is all flashbacks. Underlined italics are songs. Enjoy!**

**CR-CR-CR**

"_You don't get it Mitch." Shane yelled across the hotel room. _

"_Then explain it to me Shane! Tell me why it is that suddenly I'm not good enough for you." Mitchie screamed back on the verge of tears. This was their third row since that morning._

"_You know you're good enough, it's just the label..." He was cut off._

"_I don't care about the label Shane, I care about _us_!" Since they'd started the second leg of the tour, things just seemed to keep going wrong between them. Whether it was a rumour spreading across the internet, Mitchie getting jealous or Shane acting like a jerk, it always ended this way._

"_This isn't working Mitch." Shane sighed, his attention suddenly caught by the floor. What he was about to say would break his heart but he didn't know what other choice he had, they couldn't go on like this. "I think we should break up." Mitchie stared at him, fury in her eyes._

"_Are you serious?" She asked, stunned. Her eyes were drawn to the ring lying on her finger. She slipped it off, flipping it over in her hand a few times. "What about this? Did it mean anything? Shane you're a complete jerk. And not in the 'cute, adorable' way but in the 'I can't believe I ever cared about you' way." With that she flung the ring him before storming out of the room._

'_**The End Of Smitchie: Music world's top couple calls it quits on their relationship.'**_

"_That's great Andy. Lets run it one more time and then I think we're done." Eric said into the recording booth. As the music started to play back again the artist smiled to himself. Andy Green. That was the name Nate had agreed on. It had taken numerous discussions with Eliza and Caitlyn for him to come to a final decision and as he stood in the booth recording his latest addition to his alternative album, he couldn't help but feel glad he'd taken the time to do this. He'd had creative control and the sound that had come from it was totally different._

'_All comes back to haunt you, in the end.'_

_Nate watched as Eric fiddled with some buttons as the song drew to a close. _

"_And we're done." Eric stated. "Good job Andy." Nate smiled before walking out to join him. "So that's it, album complete. I do have one quick question though." Eric said, glancing at the young solo artist in front of him, "When are you going to tell the others?" Nate rolled his eyes. Caitlyn and Eliza had both asked him the same question within the last week._

"_I'm not ready yet. When I know if it's going to work out, maybe then." Nate reasoned. He was still scared about how his brothers would react. _

"_Alright Nate, whatever you say. But if Andy Green's a success, you may want to tell them sooner rather than later." Eric replied, imaging the fallout if the press found out Andy's true identity before Nate's brothers did._

'_**Andy Green goes to number one with his first single'**_

"_Liza, they want you to testify against James in court." Marie said down the phone to her sister, filling her in on what the lawyer had told her earlier._

"_I don't care what the lawyer wants; I don't care what happens to James. I don't ever want to see or even think about him ever again. Plus I'm halfway around the world so it isn't going to work." Eliza said stubbornly._

"_Come on sis, maybe everything is over between you and James but what if he gets away with it, what if someone else ends up in the same situation?" Marie couldn't believe her sister was being so selfish._

"_I don't care Marie, okay? I'm not going to do it so drop it." Eliza couldn't admit to Marie just how scared she was about the possibility that James could go scot free. She knew it was stopping her doing what was right, but she couldn't help but think that if she testified against him, he'd come and find her again one day and on that day, she may not have Shane to save her._

'_**Celebrity bus hijacker escapes punishment due to lack of evidence.' **_

_Hello beautiful, it's been a long time_

_Since my phone's rung_

_And you've been on that line_

_I've been missing you_

_It's true_

_But tonight, I'm gonna fly_

_Yeah tonight, I'm gonna fly_

_Cos I could comb across the world_

_See everything and never be satisfied_

_If I couldn't see those eyes_

_The camera zoomed in on Jason's face and the crowd went crazy. The tears rolling down his cheeks were unmistakable. There'd been rumours that the oldest band member hadn't been his usual cheery, dopey self lately and this was the proof. _

_Jason knew it was unprofessional to cry on stage, he knew Shane would have a go at him for it. He'd tried to get the song taken off the set list, tried to explain that it rang so true it hurt, but his brothers' wouldn't listen. And so night after night they played it, and night after night it hurt. That night, it had just been too long._

'_**Jason Grey caught crying on stage, is the older member of Connect 3 missing his long distance girlfriend?'**_

Are you reading through that again?" Eliza asked as she walked into Marie's room, making the young Austen jump. "I swear you're obsessed with that scrap book." Marie closed the book and placed it back into her box of memorabilia from the 'Play My Music' world tour.

"I just like reading the articles. A lot happened on that tour, I was just reminding myself." Marie explained as she slid the box back under her bed and gave her sister a brief hug.

"I've got one more for you to add to the collection" Eliza said, dropping a magazine beside her sister. "Page seventeen." Marie turned to the page before reading aloud.

"**Are Connect 3 on the verge of splitting? With rumours of Nate losing interest, Jason busy being all loved up and Shane returning to his diva ways, people are starting to think the hit making trio could be about to go their separate ways." **Marie stopped reading, turning to Eliza, "Things aren't that bad are they?" Marie asked worriedly.

"No, it's just the press making a big deal out of nothing, especially where Shane's concerned, he's only grumpy when Mitchie's around. I think the summer will be good for them, especially with everyone coming along."

"Not everyone." Marie muttered, but Eliza missed it, instead getting distracted by the time.

"I didn't realise it was so late. Listen, I have to go but I'll see you at the house warming later, yeah?" Eliza asked hopefully. Things had been tense between the two sisters lately but Eliza was hoping that now the tour was over and she was home, kind of, things would improve. Marie looked at her sister uncertainly.

"Is Jason going to be there?" She asked, looking at the floor to avoid the sympathetic look she knew Eliza would be giving her. She felt the bed dip beside her and her sister's arm slide across her shoulders.

"Yeah, but you should come anyway. You can't let him stop you having fun. And trust me, tonight will be fun. Plus you haven't seen the new house yet. You'll love it. Please come, for me?"

On their return from the tour Eliza and Mitchie had informed Marie that they were going to move in together. Since Mitchie's career had taken off so strongly she'd realised it would be better to live in LA and so, with her parents' eventual permission, she'd agreed to buy a place with the older Austen who, at the age of twenty-one, felt it was time to leave home. To say Marie had been disappointed Eliza wouldn't be living with her anymore was an understatement, but the sixteen year old (who turned seventeen in a little under a month) hadn't let her sister know it.

Marie sighed, knowing there was no way she could escape the party.

"What time does it start?"

"Eight, but you can come before that if you want, have an exclusive tour before everyone else." Eliza suggested excitedly. "I think Caitlyn's getting there at half seven, if her flight's on time, so you should come then. Right, must go, see you later!" And with that Eliza left. Marie was glad that she'd get to spend the night with Caitlyn who she hadn't seen in over a month, but her dread of having to interact with certain others who she knew would be on the guest list was preventing her from getting excited.

_CR-CR-CR_

"I have absolutely no idea what to wear tonight." Marie complained down the phone having scanned through her wardrobe three times. The person on the other end chuckled. "What's the dress code again?"

"Smart casual but I reckon they actually want us to dress up. They're taking this house warming very seriously." Marie looked at her wardrobe again, a red dress catching her eye.

"I think I've found the perfect outfit." She said, pulling it out and holding it against herself. It was a little short but she could pull it off.

"I'm sure you'll look amazing." Marie blushed even though she knew it was only meant in friendship. She wasn't good at taking compliments.

"So I'm guessing you're looking forward to seeing Caity later." Marie said as she searched for the perfect high heels to match.

"Definitely, it's been nearly three weeks. I'm more used to being away from her after the tour but it's harder knowing I'm just across the country from her and I still can't see her." Nate sighed. He used to think he was good at long distance relationships but with Caitlyn it was different. This was the most serious he'd ever felt about a girl and though he'd been glad she didn't come on the world tour when he saw what it did to Shane and Mitchie, all he wanted to do now he was home was to hold her in his arms and never have to let go.

"At least you'll get to see each other a lot over summer." Marie said, trying to sound happy for him, but he could still hear the sorrow in her voice.

"It's going to be okay Marie, trust me."

"Don't say that." She told him, holding back the tears.

"I'm sorry, I forgot." Nate was the only one she'd told just how much everything that had happened hurt. With the others she just pretended she was fine, but Nate knew that wasn't so. Even though she'd grown close to Caitlyn whilst the others had been abroad, Nate was still easier to talk to. He would listen and never judge and that was what she needed.

"I'll see you at the party, okay?" Marie said, wanting to end the call so she could calm down. She knew she was being ridiculous but she didn't know how to control it.

"You'll be alright?" Nate asked, concerned. If he hadn't been seeing her later he would have been on his way over instantly.

"Yeah. I need to get ready." They said their goodbyes and hung up. Marie sat on her bed staring at the nearby 'Play My Music' tour poster. Life had certainly changed since the start of the tour, less for the better than others would think.

**AN: So there you go, the start of the sequel. What do you think? Do you like where things are going? I'll upload the new chapter as soon as possible. Also, go and check out my other new story 'The Missing Piece' which I will writing in tandem with this. **


	2. House Party

"Food?"

"Check."

"Decorations?"

"Check."

"Drinks?"

"Alcoholic and none, check."

"Music?"

"On its way with Caitlyn."

"I think we're ready then." Eliza said looking round the house proudly. Everything was finally unpacked and they were ready to host their first joint house party. "Though I need to get dressed." Eliza rushed up the stairs as she realised how little time she'd left to get herself ready.

"I'm so glad we decided to buy this place." Mitchie yelled up the stairs, knowing her housemate could still hear her. The press had released numerous articles about whether Mitchie was too young to live away from home but standing there waiting for her friends to arrive, she knew she'd made the right choice. Sure she missed her parents but it wasn't like she could never see them. She could fly to Dallas whenever she wanted and she'd get to see her mum everyday of the summer – Connie's Catering had been hired for another year – so she didn't get what the big deal was.

Mitchie squealed in excitement as the doorbell rang, indicating their first guest had arrived.

"I'll get it." She yelled, rushing to the door and flinging it open to reveal a nervous looking Marie. "Ri! Oh my word girl you look amazing!" Mitchie commented before pulling her friend into a tight hug.

"Sorry I'm a bit early." Marie said as she allowed Mitchie to pull her into the hallway. She stared in awe at the stunning huge house.

"That's cool, you get the first tour." Mitchie said excitedly before grabbing her hand and pulling her around the house showing her the fully modern cottage style kitchen, the living room with its log fire, the huge bedrooms, each with an en suite bathroom, before coming to a halt at the end of the upstairs corridor where there was a door either side.

"These are the main guest rooms." Mitchie explained happily before opening the door to the right. "What do you think?"

Marie wandered into the room and gasped. The room was beautiful, with sunset yellow walls, a queen sized four poster bed, a 32-inch TV and a desk with a Mac book ready to use. She wandered over to the double doors on the left hand side of the room.

"Boo!" She jumped back in shock as Eliza appeared from behind the doors, having hidden there when she heard the two of them coming upstairs. "Come look in here." She stepped aside so her sister could see.

"Is this a wardrobe?" Marie asked in surprise as she walked into the room lined with shelves and clothing racks. It was nearly as big as her bedroom.

"Yeah and look." Eliza grabbed her sister's hand and pulled her over to the French windows, opening them and stepping out onto the balcony.

"You seriously have the nicest house. I'm jealous." Marie admitted as she looked out over the massive garden, complete with pool.

"You like this room?" Eliza asked.

"It's beautiful."

"It's yours. Whenever you want." She knew her sister wasn't happy that they weren't going to be living together, even if Marie denied it, so she hoped this would help.

"You serious?" Marie asked, looking round the room once more.

"How could we have a house and not have a place for you and Caitlyn?"

"Caitlyn too?"

"The room opposite is hers. No one else is allowed in these rooms apart from us four." Eliza smiled as her sister wrapped her arms around her.

"Thank you." She whispered, feeling a bit relieved. Maybe she wouldn't be losing her sister after all.

_CR-CR-CR_

"I'm so sorry we're late, I'm totally useless at timing." Jason said as he greeted Mitchie. It was nine o'clock, nearly an hour late.

"Jase, I've known you nearly a year now, I'm well aware you're never on time." Mitchie said as she led Jason to the back garden where the majority of the party goers were. "Help yourself to food and drinks, I'll be back in a sec." She left him to it. He looked at the people surrounding him, surprised by how many there were. This party was bigger than he expected. He wandered around, trying to find someone he recognised. He dodged round happy couples and large groups, working his way across the garden. That's when he saw her, sat on a bench, her eyes focussed on the cup in her hands. Though he could only see the side of her face, he knew it was her.

"Jase, you made it." Nate said as he noticed his brother. At the sound of Nate's voice Marie's head snapped up and her eyes locked with Jason's.

"Hi." She said quietly. Jason smiled at her.

"I better take Caitlyn her drink." Nate said, excusing himself, leaving them alone.

"Long time no see." He said. She turned so she was facing him, but remained seated.

"Guess you're glad of a summer break." Marie said, "Looking forward to camp?"

"I'm going to make my own birdhouse." He said proudly, "But I have to teach people too, not sure why Brown trusts me to do so." He was rather uncertain whether the summer was going to be good or a nightmare.

"You'll be fine. You taught me pretty well." She smiled, a genuine happy smile, remembering their guitar lessons earlier in the year. This was the most they'd talked since that final night of the tour, when things went wrong almost instantly. She was surprised that it was so easy to slip back into conversation with him and in a way it scared her.

"I've been looking everywhere for you!" The smiled disappeared from Marie's face and she returned her attention to her drink as Jason turned to greet the voice. "I lost you at the door. It's crazy around here." Jason took her hand in his before giving her a gentle peck on the lips.

"I'm just catching up with Marie." He explained. "Marie, you remember Peggy don't you? You guys met back in New York." Marie looked up at the beautiful girl who was leaning against Jason. Since 'Smitchie' had ended so unexpectedly, 'Jeggy' had become the new 'it' couple.

"Nice to see you again." Marie said politely as she stood up.

"Peggy's going to be teaching at Camp Rock this summer too." Jason said cheerily, assuming Marie would be as happy about this as he was.

"That's cool." Marie said plastering on a fake smile. "I better go find Liza, I've barely seen her since she got back. Have a good evening." She walked away, her smile dropping as soon as she passed them. Jason turned and watched her leave, concerned about the girl who used to be his best friend.

_CR-CR-CR_

"There's my little sis!" Eliza exclaimed drunkenly as Marie entered the kitchen where she stood with Shane and Nate.

"How drunk are you?" Marie asked as she watched her sister take another swig from her glass of wine.

"A bit? It's fine, I'm twenty-one, I'm allowed." Eliza wrapped her arms haphazardly around Marie who instantly shrugged her off. Shane shot Nate a confused glanced, not expecting that reaction between the sisters. Nate just shrugged, though he knew a lot of the reasoning behind it.

"I'm going home Eliza. I'll see you soon." Marie gave a brief goodbye to the other two before walking away. Eliza watched her go before excusing herself, her sister's actions sobering her instantly.

"Marie, wait." She caught up with her near the front door. They were alone; the rest of the party guests had dispersed around the house. "What's up? I thought you were having fun?"

"I am, but I just don't really feel like it tonight. Your house is great though. I'm sure you'll really enjoy living here." Marie opened the door, wanting to leave before the inevitable argument occurred.

"Can't you just stay and be here for me for once?" And there it was, the words which made the young Austen finally snap. Months of tension had built up and Marie had had enough. She spun around and glared at her sister so viciously Eliza was actually scared.

"Be there for you? What have I been doing all year? It's all been about _you_. What about when I needed you? You have no idea what's going on with me and you don't even _try_ to care, you're too busy having an amazing life. Well here's a fact for you sis, not everything's about you and not everyone's life is oh so perfect." She spat the words out with venom. "You've got the dream job, dream house and your _real_ family. I get it Eliza, I'm just the fake sister and you don't want me anymore." Marie yelled. She hadn't wanted to get into this, she'd promised herself when she left for that party earlier that evening she wouldn't let anything get to her yet here she was, on the verge of tears, yelling at the girl she'd known her whole life.

"Don't want you? Ri, what are you talking about? Of course I want you, you're my sister." Eliza tried to get her to come back inside but she just moved further away.

"No, I'm not, not really, as I've read in the magazines many, many times since you left, as everyone at school pointed out any opportunity they got. Trust me, they just loved finding out I'd be lying to them all this time. In truth, I'm nothing to do with you really, we just got forced together." She sighed, letting slip yet more she'd planned to keep secret. Whilst Eliza had been away Marie had slowly felt like everything in her life was falling apart.

"I had no idea. I'm sorry." Eliza felt dreadful. She'd avoided reading the gossip news about her true identity and so had no idea that her sister had been dragged into it. Maybe she should have made more effort to call Marie while she was away.

"It's not that important. Look, go have a good summer at camp with the others, teach people how to write chart topping hits and I'll probably see you when you get back." At least she hoped she would. She knew her parents hadn't yet told Eliza the plans, but now wasn't the time to get into that.

"When I get back? Ri, what are you talking about?" Eliza was once more thoroughly confused.

"You've been away for the last four months and now you're going to be away for the summer while I'm stuck here, but it's okay, I'll probably still be here once you get back, I'm sure we'll make up for it then." She tried to sound fine with the situation, though even she didn't think she sounded too convincing.

"Mom and dad didn't tell you, did they?" Eliza asked, suddenly realising why her sister was acting this way. "I swear we agreed they'd tell you, maybe not." It was now Marie's turn to be confused.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're coming with us you dope! Why do you think we've all been telling you about it? We were telling Brown about how you wanted to go last year but couldn't and how we'd all missed you while being abroad. Brown said the more campers the better so after talking to mom and dad, you got a place. I swear they were supposed to tell you weeks ago." Eliza explained happily.

"No way." Marie said, suddenly feeling very guilty about her little rant. "Thank you. Seriously." She wrapped her arms around her sister, not only happy to be getting the summer of her dreams, but to also be sharing it with some of her best friends. It was more than she could have hoped for.

"Please stay the rest of the night. You can even stay over in your room." Marie reluctantly agreed, still worried about having to spend time with a certain member of Connect 3, and his girlfriend, before Eliza linked their arms and they wandered back into the kitchen.

"Marie's coming to Camp Rock!" Eliza announced as they joined Shane, Nate and Caitlyn (who had just arrived, having left her music equipment in capable hands).

"You finally found out? Man, do you know how hard it's been to keep my mouth shut about that all this time? I can't wait until we get to our cabin. This is going to be the best summer yet." Caitlyn exclaimed excitedly.

"Our cabin?" Marie questioned her friend.

"Well, we're not technically meant to know who we're sharing with until we get there but hey, there have to be some perks to dating the nephew of the camp owner." Caitlyn glanced up at Nate, who had wrapped his arms around her waist, before leaning up and planting a soft kiss on his lips.

"Bring on the summer of our lives!" Eliza stated, pouring herself another glass of wine, the others cheering in agreement.

Marie stood watching the group, happy for the first time in a few months. Sure things had been hard while they'd been away, this year had changed her a lot from the innocent, popular girl she'd been last summer, but now she had Camp Rock to look forward to. Something told her this would be a drama filled few weeks.

**AN: I'm really glad so many of you have returned to read the sequel. What do you think? Next chapter, they get to Camp Rock and we see some familiar faces. **


	3. Welcome to Camp Rock

**Chapter 3 – Welcome to Camp Rock**

Marie rushed around her room throwing item after item into her suitcase. She knew she should have started packing earlier. In an hour Caitlyn would be at the door and they'd have to leave almost straight away to get to camp on time, yet Marie still had to choose and pack all her clothes.

"How's it going sweetie?" Sandra asked from the doorway of her daughter's room.

"Badly. How can I possibly pack everything I need for the next month in this tiny suitcase?" Marie replied, clearly stressed.

"I think we have a bigger one somewhere if you want it?" Her mum suggested as she started helping Marie fold her clothes.

"I don't really have time it find it. It's fine, I'll just force it all in here." Marie said as she tried to decide which of the numerous pairs of shoes she owned to take. She was sure packing for the tour wasn't this hard, and that had been stuff for two months, not one.

"Is there anything in here you want your father and I to leave for you to pack?" Sandra asked a while later as Marie sat on her suitcase trying to force it shut.

"No, I packed all the important stuff yesterday." Marie replied pointing to the two large boxes standing in the corner of the room as she put her entire weight on the bag. "The rest of it only need shoving in boxes, I'll have time to do it when I get back before the moving men get here." She pulled the zip closed and stood up, looking at her case with pride. "See, I said it would all fit."

"And with time to spare." Her mum teased.

"Have you told Eliza yet?" Marie asked as she carried her case down the stairs and placing it beside the bright purple guitar case that was already waiting to be taken. She wished her parents would just tell them both straight away when decisions were made, but she'd come to learn that wasn't what they did.

"We thought we'd wait until after camp, we don't want to spoil this summer for either of you and you know what Eliza's like, we tell her the big news and she'll insist on spending the summer with us instead." Sandra explained. "Now, are you sure you have everything?" Marie thought through everything she'd packed.

"No." She realised before rushing up the stairs and grabbing the teddy she'd left lying on her bed. She'd promised to take it everywhere with her and, despite how things were between her and Jason, she planned to keep her promise. Though she was sixteen she still found having a soft toy was quite comforting.

"I don't think that's going to fit in your case." Sandra said as Marie returned downstairs.

"It's cool, I'll put it in my handbag." She explained as she grabbed the large, pink, Mary Poppins style bag and slid the bear inside along with her phone and two spare notepads. She never went anywhere without some paper now, a trick she'd learnt from Mitchie on the tour. It was at that moment they heard a car horn honk outside. "That'll be Caitlyn. Tell dad I said bye." Marie said before giving her mom a quick hug and then grabbing the handle of her case. "Mom," she said as she opened "I love you." They shared a smile. Since returning from the tour Marie had grown closer to her parents. It had been almost as if she was an only child for a few months.

Marie climbed into Caitlyn's bright green convertible and took one last glance at the house she'd grown up in before they pulled away.

"Next stop Camp Rock!" Caitlyn cheered before putting on the radio. They both smiled, recognising the song.

"You know, as mysterious as he is, I really like Andy Green's stuff, he's definitely got talent." Marie said as the latest single from the hit pop sensation played through the cars speakers. Andy Green had appeared on the music scene only a few months ago, yet he was already as popular as Connect 3, but no one knew who he was. Part of his act was to only ever do interviews through email or the phone and to never allow people to actually meet him, as had been well documented in the press. There were plenty of theories behind the secrecy, from him being severely disfigured to it being a completely computer generated artist who didn't really exist. "Surely he knew when he sent in a demo or whatever that he would have to make appearances, why would he try and make it in this industry if he didn't want anyone to know who he really was? I mean, how on earth will he ever do a tour?" Caitlyn shrugged, they hadn't yet solved that issue. As the chorus rolled round she joined Marie singing along to the words. Even though only four people, including herself, knew it, Caitlyn was pleased she'd helped him write the song that was currently playing. She just wished Nate would get round to telling the others. She understood why he didn't want to, but the more famous and popular Andy Green became, the harder it was for her to keep his identity a secret. At least she'd have Eliza to help her persuade him at camp.

"You're going to love camp Ri." Caitlyn said once the song had ended. "I spoke to Mitchie last night and apparently Brown's done it all up really nicely over the year so it's even better than before." Everyone else had travelled up to Camp Rock two days ago to help set up and prepare for their classes.

"So she and Shane haven't torn each other to pieces yet?" The tension between the former couple had been pretty bad at the party the other night, with neither staying in the same room as the other for more than a few minutes. Marie didn't know how they were going to survive another month together. Then again, she didn't know how she was going to survive the month with Jason and his girlfriend, but she was still going.

"Not yet, thankfully. I really hope that going back to camp will make them remember why they fell for each other in the first place." None of them liked Mitchie and Shane being apart, not only did it make things awkward, but it was also so obvious they still wanted to be together, they didn't understand how the former couple hadn't realised they weren't over each other. Marie didn't get why they wouldn't just sit down and talk things through. If she thought there was even the slightest chance of Jason still having feelings for her (which, she thought, he clearly didn't as he had Peggy) she believed she would do everything she could to make him know she still cared.

"I'm kinda nervous." Marie admitted. She didn't know if she was going to be good enough. She knew the type of person who went to Camp Rock, she was friends with most of the camp's major successes. In her opinion, she didn't think she was going to fit in, not to mention the fact that she didn't want to spend the summer being known as 'Eliza Austen's sister' (which was inevitable) and then not living up to the expectation that brought.

"You'll be fine, trust me." Marie flinched. After everything with Jason that phrase hurt every time anyone said it. He'd told her so many times to trust him when he said that everything would be alright. She'd believed him, and look where that got her. "You've just got to get stuck in, learn everything you can from the instructors, take part in all the jams. Which reminds me, you and I are performing at Opening Jam later tonight."

"What? Caitlyn, no. I have nothing prepared." Marie said, freaking out at the idea of having to perform.

"Don't worry, I have a song ready for us, I assumed you'd be nervous about performing for the first time so all you have to do is play piano and sing some background lyrics. I'll show you when we get to our cabin." Marie sighed. She'd learned that when Caitlyn had a plan there was no talking her out of it. She had to have her first performance at some point in the next 4 weeks, she thought, why not just get it out of the way.

_CR-CR-CR_

"You made it!" Mitchie exclaimed as she saw Marie and Caitlyn climbing out of the car at camp.

"Yeah, safe and sound. Told you I wasn't a bad driver." Caitlyn said, sticking her tongue out at Mitchie.

"I'm not sure the lorry driver would agree." Marie teased as she lifted her case from the boot of the car. "Scariest moment of my life." Caitlyn looked slightly embarrassed.

"He was going too slowly, it's not my fault he decided to speed up as I pulled in front of him." It had resulted in the lorry almost smacking into the back of their car, the driver hadn't seemed too impressed.

"Ri, did you bring your entire wardrobe?" Eliza commented as she joined them, trying to lift Marie's overly heavy case and completely failing

"It's not that bad, your just weak" Marie defended taking the handle from her sister and dragging her case behind her. "So where do we go now?"

"The main office, they'll have your cabin keys and Brown might let you get your schedules. Come on, we'll escort you." Mitchie said, leading the way to the centre of the camp. They walked past a few cabins, an area of woodlands and the infamous lake, which Marie knew for the many stories she'd been told of past camp experiences, coming to a stop outside a dark red cabin with the word 'Office' in large yellow writing above the door.

"Well if it isn't Caitlyn Gellar." An English accent said as they entered the cabin, "Good to have one of our most enthusiastic campers back again. No one is safe now." Brown teased as he greeted the girl he had seen every summer for the past 3 years. "And who is this?" He asked, noticing the timid looking girl stood nearby.

"This is Marie, my sister." Eliza explained proudly, missing the glare Marie threw in her direction.

"Ah, so you're the famous Marie Austen all my new counsellors keep going on about. Good to finally put a face to the name." Marie shook his hand nervously. She didn't like the idea of every one talking about her before she arrived; it just meant more pressure for her to live up to expectations. "I'm Brown, owner of Camp Rock, Uncle to Connect 3 and, though I only just found out, this crazy girl." He indicated to Eliza.

"You know, I never realised that." Mitchie said with a laugh.

"Let's get you settled in, shall we?" Brown suggested as he shuffled through some papers to find their information. "You're both in the melody cabin," he explained as he grabbed two keys from the hooks. "I believe you know where it is Caitlyn?"

"I should do, I've stayed there the last 3 years." Caitlyn responded as she took her key.

"Excellent, your other roommate has already arrived, don't go scaring her too much, you understand." Caitlyn nodded, turning red as she remembered her first year when one of her roommates had left almost the minute she arrived. "Here are you're schedules, I know you like to be prepared early, don't go flashing them around until after the introductory talk, don't want to spoil the surprise for everyone else. Looks like you both have pretty busy summers lined up." Marie scanned the piece of paper she'd been given, her heart sinking when she saw who she'd have for guitar, though she was relieved that a certain instructor's name was missing. "I'm sure you want to go meet the other person you'll be spending the next four weeks with so I'll let you go. Don't forget the introduction talk is at five."

"As if we would." Caitlyn said. With a few quick goodbyes the two campers headed off to their cabin, leaving the instructors to talk to Brown about that evening's activities.

"This place is huge." Marie stated as they walked around the lake towards where the girls' cabins were.

"It wasn't as big when it started, but over the years Brown gradually expanded it as it got more popular, especially after Connect 3 got big. I swear he treats this place as if it's his baby." Caitlyn explained. "Well this is it, home for the next month." She said as she walked up the steps, opening the cabin door.

"You're new." Caitlyn stated as she took in the girl sat on one of the beds in their cabin. She had short black hair with red, purple and blue streaks spread throughout it, she had bracelets covering most of the lower half of her left arm and a small tattoo of a drum stick with the letter M O C written in the middle of it on her right. Her emerald green eyes stared at Caitlyn in confusion.

"How'd you know?" She asked.

"I've been here for the last three years, I know everyone who's been here before. Plus you're sat in a cabin on your own on the first day, definite signs that you're new. I'm Caitlyn." She stuck out her hand, which the new girl took uncertainly.

"Melissa. I guess we're roommates?" Caitlyn nodded, indicating she was correct, before dumping her bag on her usual bed underneath the window. "This is Marie by the way, she's new too." Caitlyn explained, pointing to Marie who was still stood at the door.

"Hi." Marie said with a slight smile, glad she wasn't the only newbie around. "Is that my bed then?" She asked, indicating to the one furthest from the door.

"Well, unless you're sleeping on the floor, I guess so." Melissa replied.

"I like you already." Caitlyn enthused. Melissa looked at her, unsure if this was a good thing or not. "So what's your focus?"

"Drums." Melissa said, glancing briefly at the drum stick on her arm. "I like to try other stuff, but I enjoy creating a beat the most." She pulled her drums sticks out from her nearby bag and played a quick rhythm against her bed post.

"You've got talent." Caitlyn complimented. She'd seen a lot of drummers come and go through Camp Rock who had never really seemed that skilled, but something about Melissa made Caitlyn sense she'd one day go far.

"What about you guys?" Melissa asked as she watched the other two start unpacking their stuff.

"Camp Rocker today, world famous producer in the future." Caitlyn replied, "Though I dabble in other stuff, singing, dancing, the usual." Melissa nodded, before turning to Marie for her response.

"I don't know yet. Piano at the moment, but I play guitar a bit too, and sing I guess." Marie hoped that by the end of camp she'd have a better idea of where her interest lay.

"She writes stuff too, though she's defensive about it." Caitlyn added as Marie rolled her eyes, leaning a purple guitar shaped bag against the wall. "Ooh, is that the new guitar?" Marie nodded. Her guitar had been the topic of much recent discussion. "Can I see it?" Marie had spent the last few months saving up to buy her guitar; it had taken a long time for her to decide which one to buy.

"Yeah I guess." Marie said. It had only arrived at her house a few days ago, she'd barely played it since, but she was very pleased with it. She unzipped the case, pulling out the mahogany instrument. From the front it looked fairly normal, but when Marie turned it over Caitlyn squealed in excitement.

"That is amazing!" She said, rushing over to have a closer look. Marie had decided to make it a bit more personal and so had created a design to have carved in the back. At the bottom it had her name in small italic lettering. In the centre was a rose, the stem of which wound towards the bottom complete with thorns, coming to an end at the very base of the guitar. A few petals were carved as if they were falling, with a small pile of them below, forming the shape of a love heart to the left of her name. The back of the neck of the guitar was covered in musical notes dotted randomly across it and where the neck met the body were five stars in a curve following the shape of the instrument. Marie had been so pleased with it, glad she had chosen to make it more personal.

"Wow. That's beautiful." Melissa said as she noticed all the detailing.

"I'm too much of a wimp to get a tattoo on myself so I got one on my guitar instead." Marie explained. The original inspiration from the design had come from her idea to get a tattoo of the outline of a rose on her palm, just under her thumb, but when she'd been told how much it would hurt she decided against it.

"They don't hurt really." Melissa said. She moved her bracelets further up her arm to reveal a tiny outlined heart on her outer wrist. "I barely even noticed when they did that one. The drumstick was a little more painful, but nothing too bad."

"I have to ask, what's MOC?" Marie questioned as she looked at the letters on Melissa's arm.

"My initials." She explained "Melissa Olivia Cardine. I thought it fit quite well and if I ever forget I just have to glance down. It cost less to get it done on my arm than on the real sticks." Melissa had been quite surprised when she discovered that getting it carved on a single stick double what getting it carved on her skin did.

"You're definitely going to fit in here." Caitlyn said happily as she finished unpacking. "Have you looked around yet?" Melissa shook her head. "Time for your official Caitlyn Geller Camp Rock tour then. Come on Ri, I've got to show you all the best places." She dragged the two other girls out of the cabin and down towards the lake.

**AN: Have to admit I'm not too happy with this chapter, but at least I got it to come to a fairly decent end point. I hope you are still happy I did a sequel; if you have an opinion on it please let me know, I'm losing a little faith in it. **


	4. That's How This Chapter Starts

Chapter 4 – That's How This Chapter Starts

Marie, Caitlyn and Melissa wandered down to the clearing, finding it already full. When Caitlyn's eyes fell on a familiar face she grabbed her friends' hands and pulled them through the crowd.

"Caitlyn! I am so glad you're here." The girl said cheerily.

"You too Ella! It's been way too long." Caitlyn replied, throwing her arms around Tess' former minion.

"Guess what." Ella said excitedly, "Tess isn't coming this year!" By the end of final jam last year Ella had turned completely against Tess and was glad she wouldn't have to spend another year in her shadow.

"I think that just made my entire day." Caitlyn said. Marie nodded in agreement. Eliza had warned her that Tess may make an appearance and had instructed her to 'behave' if she did. To know she wouldn't have to spend the summer being civil to the fake blond was a great relief. "By the way, this is Marie and Melissa." Caitlyn indicated to the two girls beside her and Ella said hello before their attention was drawn to the small nearby stage.

"Attention campers!" A short, hyperactive red head called into a microphone. "I'm Dee La Duke, the music director at Camp Rock."

"Hi Dee!" Everyone in the clearing said in sync.

"Here at Camp Rock we sing, so lots hear that again." Caitlyn rolled her eyes as everyone sang '_Hi Dee_'. Her opening speech was almost exactly the same every year. Caitlyn had heard it so many times she could practically quote it.

"Sounds good, a little flat in places, but we'll fix that by final jam." Well, maybe some bits changed slightly. Caitlyn knew what was coming next. Every year the same two guys got up on stage and did a mini performance, liking to officially be the first to perform and it always resulted in a very embarrassing dance performance on Dee's part.

_Okay now_

_Are you ready?_

_1, 2, 1, 2, 3 uh_

Barron and Sander leapt on stage either side of Dee and started their clearly rehearsed rap.

_There, there, there, there, there is no competition_

_That's why we in the number one position_

_Their crew can't hang with us_

_Man we're too dangerous_

A third guy joined them, leaping on from the very back of the stage. Caitlyn assumed he must be another newbie as she didn't recognise him.

_Ain't got the style or the stamina_

_Just doing my thing, get hooked on my swing_

_Rocking the place_

_Dropping the bass_

_Making all the girls sing_

Squeals rose from the female members of the audience.

_Yeah we make the bell ring!_

The guys ended their performance in a typical hip hop position before jumping off the stage.

"That's gotta be your best yet." Caitlyn said as she high fived them. "Who's the new guy?" She asked as she watched him walk away to a squealing gaggle of girls.

"Luke. He was on the same bus as us heading up here and seemed cool so we decided to let him join the crew. You know how it is." Barron explained as he hooked his arms around Ella's shoulders, causing her to blush instantly. Caitlyn raised her eyebrows and Ella shook her head, mouthing 'later' as Dee continued.

"Thank you for that guys, you're clearly having too much fun already. Okay, this summer's not just about final jam, you'll get new music skills, find your sound, create your own style, figure out who you want to be as artists but most of all, have fun!" The crowd cheered again. Marie glanced around her, taking in all the people stood nearby. She realised it was highly likely that most of these people would be successful musicians, singer and dancers. She still couldn't believe she got to spend her summer here.

"Drum roll please." Dee said.

"Who's that?" Melissa asked as a long haired guy appeared from the audience and started playing a drum roll on the edge of the stage.

"Andy, he's an amazing drummer, probably the best here. I'll introduce you later." Caitlyn promised, already seeing the attraction in Melissa's eyes.

"This year we have not one, not two, not three but _six_ celebrity instructors!" Dee announced, causing mass excitement to spread through camp. The others' appearance at camp had remained a massive secret with Marie and Caitlyn being the only ones in the know.

"You ready to meet them?" Dee asked, receiving lots of cheers in response.

"Don't they already know who it is because of the names on their schedules?" Marie asked.

"Nope because no one but us have their schedules, we're special." Caitlyn explained, clearly pleased with the fact that they were getting special treatment this year.

"Okay first up we have one this year's most successful stars. She's a platinum seller and was nominated for both best new artist and record of the year for her single 'come clean', your song writing instructor for this year is Eliza Austen." Eliza walked on stage looking very nervous. She'd faced thousands of people every time she performed but this was different. Everyone in the clearing would be expecting to learn important things from her this summer. After waving at the gathered, screaming crowd she walked over to the back of stage where they had been instructed to wait whilst Dee did the other introductions.

"Next up is someone most of you will know. Her first year at Camp Rock last year launched this rock chick to stardom and following a number one album and a place on a world tour she's back to help you guys reach your vocal potential. Your vocal instructor this year is Mitchie Torres." Mitchie ran on stage with a broad grin, taking in all the familiar faces. She heard screams of 'We love you Mitchie' and glanced over to see Caitlyn and Ella with happy smiles.

"And now, as your guitar instructor this year, please welcome back last year's winner of final jam, Margaret Dupree!"

"She didn't tell me she was coming back!" Ella said joyfully.

"It was a last minute decision; Jason persuaded her it would be a good place to spend their summer together." Caitlyn replied

"Aw, that's so sweet!" Ella squealed whilst Marie just rolled her eyes.

'He could have just taught guitar himself.' She thought, not paying much attention to Peggy's arrival on stage. She didn't have anything against Peggy really, in fact she had quite liked her when they met back in New York and she could tell the girl had serious talent. It was just, though she wouldn't actually admit it, she was jealous: of her friendship with the girls and her relationship with Jason.

"So how about we get these three to perform for us?" Dee asked the campers who squealed in excitement. Peggy and Eliza grabbed their guitars and the three of them positioned themselves in front of the microphone stands which had just been brought on stage.

"They didn't tell us they were performing." Marie said, but from the smirk on Caitlyn's face she sensed her friend knew all about this impromptu show.

"They needed someone to help with the arrangement." Caitlyn replied with a shrug as the girls started to play. Mitchie started.

_Last year's old news_

_I'm breaking out my six string and playing from my heart_

_It's not déjà vu_

_Cos it's another summer that's how this chapter starts. _

_I'm gonna run so fast 'til I can't breathe_

_Come along and follow me _

_Let's make some noise we never did before_

_It's a brand new day_

_Don't you see me_

_Changing up my ways_

_So completely_

_This time I'm gonna sing and your gonna hear it_

_This time I'm gonna show you that I got the spirit_

_It's a brand new day_

_And I'm feeling good_

_And I'm feeling good_

Eliza took the vocals for the next section as Peggy rocked out on her guitar and Mitchie just ran around stage feeling good to be back on stage at Camp Rock again.

_So drama free_

_I'm all about the music_

_I just wanna sing_

_Watch me live out my dream_

_I'm gonna rock that stage_

_And give my everything_

_I'm gonna dance until my feet can't move_

_Come along get in the grove_

_Let's shine so bright more than we did before_

Caitlyn laughed as she watched the three girls dance the choreography she had helped them with a few days before. Watching two of them do it with guitars, whilst Mitchie went all out, was thoroughly amusing.

_It's a brand new day_

_Don't you see me_

_Changing up my ways_

_So completely_

_This time I'm gonna sing and your gonna hear it_

_This time I'm gonna show you that I got the spirit_

_It's a brand new day_

_And I'm feeling good_

Peggy took over the lead for the divided part, stunning people once more with her voice which, even in a year, had improved vast amounts. How she had ever only been Tess' minion, no one could understand.

_(What you gonna do, what you gonna do?)_

_I'm gonna laugh through the summer with you _

_(Who you gonna be, who you gonna be)_

_You'll just have to watch and can't believe_

_(Where you gonna go, where you gonna go)_

_Any where my heart wants me to go_

_I'm gonna sing_

_I'm gonna dance_

_I'm gonna write _

_I'm gonna play_

_I'm gonna try my hand at everything._

As the song reached its final chorus the crowd started to join in, thoroughly loving the upbeat track which suited their dreams and summer plans so well.

"Clap with us!" Eliza called into her microphone as she took her hands off her guitar and started to clap to the beat.

_Cos it's a brand new day_

_Don't you see me_

_Changing up my ways_

_So completely_

_This time I'm gonna sing and your gonna hear it_

_This time I'm gonna show you that I got the spirit_

_It's a brand new day_

_It's a brand new_

_So don't you see me_

_Changing up my ways _

_So completely_

_This time I'm gonna sing and your gonna hear_

_This time I'm gonna show you that i got the spirit_

_It's a brand new day_

_It's a brand new day_

_And I'm feeling good_

_Feeling good_

_And I'm feeling good!_

The performance drew to a close, followed by one of the biggest cheers the three girls had ever received. They'd spent the last week working on their song, deciding it was good practise for teaching, with Peggy working on the guitar part and teaching it to Eliza, Eliza writing the lyrics and teaching the parts to the other two and Mitchie helping them make sure all three voices blended together.

"I can't believe I just saw Eliza Austen and Mitchie Torres _and_ Margaret Dupree all perform together, _live!_" Melissa gushed. "That was awesome!"

"Dee, who are our other celebrity instructors?" Sander called from the crowd.

"The biggest success story of Camp Rock." That's all it took to get the screams going, with most people able to guess who she meant, "This year your drums instructor is Nate, you performance technique guide is Shane and making sure our new junior rockers have the best summer of their lives is Jason, that's right, Connect 3 are back at Camp Rock!" Dee exclaimed, jumping up and down like an excited child as the three of them ran on stage.

"Jason's looking after younger campers?" Marie asked, surprised. "I thought the age limit was like 13?"

"Yeah, but with so many extra instructors they decided to allow some specially selected ten year olds to come this year. They've got lessons in the morning then arts and crafts in the afternoon." Caitlyn explained using her insider knowledge.

"So he may actually get to build his birdhouse after all." Marie muttered to herself with a small smile. She knew it what he wanted to do the most.

"Okay gang, that's it for now. Dinner's at half seven in the mess hall and don't forget opening jam tonight! We want to see as many of you up and performing as possible!" With that Dee jumped from the stage.

The campers wandered away from the clearing, some discussing how amazing the three girls had been, others complaining about the fact that Connect 3 didn't perform. Everyone was now even more excited about the summer ahead.

"Come on, we better go practise our performance." Caitlyn said starting to drag Marie away. Melissa excused herself, telling them she'd meet them at dinner, having noticed some other people she knew. They watched her wander over to a gaggle of girls surrounding a strawberry blonde, before Caitlyn remembered where they had been going and grabbed Marie by the elbow, pulling her out of the clearing.

**AN: Okay, so I know it probably seems like it's taking a while to get into this story but I promise you from the next chapter things really start to pick up. I hope you liked the songs ('It's On' and 'Brand New Day' from the CR2 soundtrack – sounds much better than the CR1 one). Please let me know what you think, even criticism is great because, after all, I'm writing to try and improve.**

**Competition****: In a later chapter you will be introduced to a girl band who will be attempting to make a name for themselves at this years' Camp Rock. Your task is to suggest names for this band. The one I pick will not only be used but its creator will get a guest spot in this story as a band member, so send in your suggestions. Closing date: August 27****th****. Good Luck!**


	5. Opening Night

Chapter 5 – Opening Night

"It's our turn." Marie said as she returned to the table that Caitlyn and her Camp Rock friends had commandeered. Caitlyn grabbed her laptop and the two girls headed to the small stage which had been set up for Opening Jam.

"Ready?" Caitlyn asked as she set up the backing track she had prepared. Marie nodded nervously. This was her first time performing, she was only providing back up for her friend but it didn't stop her nerves. "You'll be fine." Caitlyn whispered to her reassuringly before hitting play on the track.

_Where you wanna go_

_Where you wanna go_

_Who you gonna_

_Who you wanna be_

_What you gonna do_

_Where you gonna go_

_Who you gonna be_

_Who you wanna be_

_Who you gonna be_

_When you wanna_

_When you gonna say what you gotta say_

_Where you wanna go_

_And where you going_

_Hey you were made for something great_

_You got history to make_

_Got history to make make _

The performance was going well, the audience seemed to be enjoying it. Marie looked up to see Eliza and Mitchie walk through from the kitchen. She watched a proud smile appear on Liza's face as she realised it was her sister performing. They'd only played the song together a few times yet they sounded like they'd been practising for months.

_Everybody on your feet_

_You reach as high as you can dream_

_So never stop imagining_

_Don't miss a beat_

_Make history_

"This is the mess hall, where you ate earlier and where we have some jams, like the one going on now. Shall we check out who's performing?" Jason asked the gang of junior rockers he was showing around. He'd been taking his responsibility very seriously; glad his uncle had trusted him with this new aspect of camp.

He pushed the door open and was more than a little surprised when he saw Marie up on stage. Earlier in the year it had taken a lot of persuasion for her to play in front of him on his own, now she was taking Opening Jam by storm.

"Wow, they're good." Lilly, one of the junior rockers commented. "Can I be as good as them?"

"You can be the best ever if you put your mind to it." Jason replied. "Come on, I better get you to your cabins, let you settle in before bed time." The junior rockers weren't allowed to participate in all of the jams as they would go on past their bedtimes, there were specific jams for only the young kids, as well one or two of the main ones they would be allocated a group performance slot for.

Jason glanced at the stage again as his campers walked out the door. His eyes locked with Marie's for the slightest second before she turned away but it was long enough for Jason to know that despite everything that had happened between them, his feelings hadn't changed.

_~You reach as high as you can dream_

_Imagine every wish came true_

_It's up to you_

_Get on your feet_

_Let the record speak_

_Make history_

_Hey eh eh ey_

_Hey eh eh oh_

_CR-CR-CR_

"That was amazing! You guys were _so_ good tonight." Melissa exclaimed as Marie and Caitlyn entered their cabin a short while after the jam had ended. The girls started getting ready for bed, well aware that lights out was fast approaching.

"I still can't believe I did that. You didn't tell me that performing gave such a buzz!" Marie said as adrenaline rushed through her veins. As soon as the music had started her nerves had slipped away and had been overtaken by confidence. She could actually perform and not screw up.

"So you'll be performing at the other jams then?" Caitlyn said, knowing that performing was like a can of Pringles; once you pop you just can't stop.

"If I can get some stuff good enough to do so." Marie said, pulling out her notebook full of ideas.

"You've got me, you can't go wrong." Caitlyn said before turning her attention to their other roommate. "How about you Melissa, you going to perform?"

"Hopefully, I might try and sort out a band or something though because, you know, solo drumming isn't so good." Melissa replied.

"You should talk to Ella, she's really talented but prefers to work in a group rather than alone." Caitlyn suggested, with Melissa promising to do so in the morning.

"What classes do you guys have? I totally meant to compare at dinner but I didn't get a chance to see you." The three girls pulled out their schedules to see if they had any classes together.

"Awesome, we all have song writing together. Performance techniques too." Melissa pointed out as she scanned through their schedules.

"I didn't know you were taking piano. You and I have that too." Marie pointed out.

"My parents thought I should learn another instrument, make myself more 'diverse'. I started learning early last year and thought I'd get a bit more practise." Melissa explained. "How come you guys have one more lesson than me?" She pointed to the 'group work' section of both their schedules, which was allocated at the same time she had a free period.

"It's this other project we agreed to do. I've known Brown for a while so he set it up." Caitlyn explain. It may not have been the whole truth, most of it may have been Nate's doing, but she didn't know how aware Melissa was of their connections to the celebrities living on camp and so stuck to her story.

"I didn't know about that." Marie said, surprised at yet more that Caitlyn had kept from her, but had still signed her up for.

""I'll explain later." Caitlyn said.

"Knock, knock." Someone called through the door. The girls exchanged a confused look, unsure who would be at their cabin when it was almost lights out.

"I'll open the door, you two be ready to attack." Marie instructed as she slowly gripped the door handle, yanking it open only to be disappointed by the two familiar faces on the other side. "You're not evil psychopathic murderers."

"Nope, just two musicians coming to see Camp Rock's new superstars." Elisa said, wrapping an arm around her sister as she and Mitchie entered the cabin.

"What are you doing here? Isn't everyone supposed to stay in their cabins after ten?" Marie asked.

"It's cool Melissa, we know them, they're normal people just like us, you can breathe." Caitlyn teased as she watched her newest friend stand in a corner of the cabin staring wide eyed at the two girls who just arrived.

"New roommate?" Mitchie asked, Caitlyn nodding in reply. "I'm Mitchie, this is Liza, I warn you we will probably be in your cabin a lot this summer." She explained.

"Why?" Melissa asked bluntly, then blushed when she realised how rude it sounded. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that it's just you're famous and we're just campers so I don't get why you'd want to hand around with us when you can hang out with Connect 3 and Margaret Dupree." She said without stopping to take any breaths.

"We've spent almost a whole year with C3, they get annoying after a while," Eliza joked, "plus Peggy's back in our cabin with Ella and they have all these in jokes that we just don't understand so we thought it would be better to hang with you guys. And we have special instructors' rights which means we're allowed out of our cabins after ten." She said, answering Marie's earlier question before taking a seat on her sister's bed.

"How do you all know each other?" Melissa asked surprised her roommates had forgotten to mention that they knew celebrities.

"I met Caitlyn last year when I came to Camp Rock." Mitchie explained, "Even slept in that very bed you're sitting on." Melissa's eyes lit up in excitement.

"And Eliza's my adopted sister, I went on tour with her earlier in the year which is where I met Caity and Mitch." Marie said, not noticing the sad look which filled Eliza's eyes when she made it clear they weren't real sisters, a habit she'd noticed Marie had developed while she was away.

"I knew I recognised you from somewhere!" Melissa exclaimed, "You've been in the press a bit right, with the whole thing with Eliza really being a Grey." She said to Marie before turning to her other roommate, "And you're dating Nate Grey aren't you? You're so lucky." Caitlyn laughed.

"I met him here last year." Caitlyn said, "Dating a celebrity isn't as fun and easy as you'd think." She instantly regretted her words when she noticed two of the faces in the room drop.

"Still, Nate Grey, wow." The others laughed at her reaction.

"Looks like you're staying with the new Camp Rock successes too." Eliza said, "Seriously I swear the whole camp is talking about your performance earlier." As they'd wandered across the camp they'd heard numerous people discussing 'Make History' and how they could be the main competition this year.

"Yeah right." Marie said, certain her sister was exaggerating. Her phone chimed and she smiled as she saw who the text was from.

"Who ya texting?" Eliza asked as she noticed her sister typing away.

"Finn."

"Ooh, the boyfriend!" Caitlyn teased.

"What?" Marie asked, looking up instantly, shocked by what her friend just said.

"It's cool Ri, we all know about you and him being all coupled up." Mitchie teased.

"Well I don't! What are you talking about?" She asked, very confused.

"You and Finn are dating, aren't you?" Eliza said.

"Er, no! Where on earth did you get that idea?"

"Caitlyn said..." Mitchie trailed off as she realised they'd all spent the last few months assuming their friend had been in a relationship when she hadn't.

"So you're not dating Finn?" Caitlyn clarified, feeling bad that she'd accidentally lied to the others.

"No, I'm not dating anyone. I haven't since Jared last year." Marie explained, then became even more confused as Caitlyn rushed to the bathroom, phone in hand, a worried look on her face. "What's up with her?"

"No idea, its Caitlyn, she's unpredictable." Mitchie lied, pretty certain she knew what her friend was thinking and doing.

_CR-CR-CR_

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be asleep, you naughty camper." Nate said as he answered the phone to his girlfriend.

"Mitchie and Eliza dropped by so we're having a girly night. But that's not important; you'll never guess what I just found out." Caitlyn whispered urgently down the phone hoping she couldn't be heard on the other side of the door.

"What?" Nate asked, confused by the concerned tone in her voice.

"Marie isn't dating Finn, she never has been, I got it wrong." She couldn't believe it had taken her so long to find out. She was trying desperately to stop herself thinking what else this could mean.

"I knew she wasn't with him at the moment but you said..."

"I know what I said, turns out I was wrong. I know, it's a rarity but it does happen sometimes."

"So she wasn't with him?" Nate clarified.

"Nope not him or anyone else." Caitlyn informed him, "I have a feeling they'll start to get suspicious if I stay in this bathroom much longer so I better go. I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow." They exchanged a quick goodbye.

"So who wasn't with whom?" Shane asked from behind his brother, making Nate jump.

"I didn't know you were in here." Nate said.

"I snuck in while you were on the phone. What's the gossip?"

"Marie wasn't dating Finn." Nate explained.

"They broke up?" Shane asked.

"No, they were never together." Nate clarified.

"Oh." Shane said. Silence filled the room for a moment. "Should we tell Jason?" He asked, knowing this would mean more to their older brother than them.

"I'm not sure, he's got Peggy, it might just complicate things."

"Come on Nate, you know Caitlyn telling us that was a big part of why he and Peggy got together." Shane responded

"But it was months ago. He's probably moved on by now, I mean when was the last time they properly spoke without one of them walking off awkwardly. You saw how they were at the party the other night." Nate didn't want the already messed up situation getting worse.

"Yeah, but maybe they would still be talking if Caitlyn hadn't told us that." They both knew it was true. The day Caitlyn had informed everyone of Marie's new boyfriend, only two weeks after the North America tour ended, was the start of the rapid decline in Jason and Marie's relationship.

"Maybe we should see how they get on for a bit here at camp before we say anything. We don't want him taking sudden drastic action." Nate suggested.

"We know he's fully capable of that." Shane muttered.

"Guys, you'll never guess what I just saw!" Jason said excitedly as he rushed in through the door. His brothers looked at him with blank stares. "Bats! There are loads of them all around here, flying around in the dark. It's so cool! I swear this place didn't have bats four years ago."

The other two just laughed at their brother before turning out the lights, wanting to be fully awake for their classes tomorrow. Camp Rock had well and truly started and already drama was occurring.

**AN: Another chapter, I felt like giving you an extra update. I'm trying to get this story complete before my holiday on September 10****th**** so there will be quite a lot of updates over the next few days. If you guys could tell me what you think, I'd seriously appreciate it.**


	6. Strawberry Blonde

**Chapter 6 – Strawberry Blonde**

Marie sank onto the bench, crossing her arms on the table and laying her head against it, much to the amusement of Mitchie and Eliza who sat opposite.

"What's the matter with you?" Mitchie asked. Instructors and campers didn't normally share tables in the mess hall but they didn't see why, when they were good friends, they should split apart.

"Summer. Early morning. Does not compute." Marie grunted, not lifting her head.

"Try the muffins; they'll definitely wake you up." Nate said, appearing behind her with a selection of food from the breakfast buffet. He leant down, placing the food on the table before pecking Caity on her forehead as a means of a good morning greeting, taking a seat beside her. While he wasn't looking Marie slid her hand out from under her head and snatched a blueberry muffin from Nate's plate. She pulled the muffin apart, placing a small piece in her mouth. As she chewed she slowly raised her head and her eyes lit up. She rapidly demolished the muffin hungrily.

"Mitchie, your mom is a cooking genius!" She exclaimed, before standing to fetch another muffin.

"You know, I'd almost forgotten how crazy she is." Mitchie said as she watched Marie wander back across the mess hall with a muffin in each hand. "Almost."

"Watch where you're going!" A strawberry blonde girl screeched as Marie accidentally bumped into her. "Fatty." The girl finished, giving Marie the once over. Marie watch in disbelief as the girl tottered away in her bright pink stilettos, she then glanced down at the muffins, suddenly losing her appetite.

"Here Nate, I got you another one." Marie said as she returned to her seat and put the larger of the two muffins on his plate, before nibbling at her own.

"Who was that?" Caitlyn asked, her eyes still glued on the strawberry blonde.

"Alexandra Blossom." Melissa explained, "She wants to be the new queen bee of Camp Rock. She went to this other camp, Camp Star, which shut down after last summer."

"I thought we'd be free of that kind of attitude with Tess gone." Caitlyn sighed.

"Oh my God, Shane Grey! You're my hero. Can you sign my hat? Please, it would, like, totally make my day." They heard a high pitched girl squeal, alerting them to the arrival of yet another member of their gang.

"Ah, Mr 'I don't do mornings' is finally out of bed." Nate commented. When he left the cabin half an hour earlier Shane had his head buried deeply underneath a pillow and Jason was staring out the window at a birdhouse he'd persuaded Brown to hang for him. It was the same one from the tour bus and Jason treasured it dearly. At least one of his brothers had remembered that breakfast was the most important meal of the day.

Mitchie glanced at the door uncomfortably before standing up.

"My mom needs me to help her in the kitchen and I need to get ready for class. I'll see you girls in second period." She said, addressing the three campers before disappearing through the doors to the kitchen as Shane arrive at the table, his gaze clearly focused on Mitchie.

"Whose idea was it to make breakfast so early?" He groaned, taking Mitchie's recently vacated seat.

"That's what I was saying." Marie said.

"You two would never cope in the real world." Nate sighed.

"Sorry Nate, I keep forgetting we live in your dreamland." Shane said sarcastically before grabbing the muffin off his brother's plate.

"Am I ever going to be allowed a muffin?" Nate asked rhetorically.

"Nope." Both Marie and Shane said at the same time. They glanced at each other in surprise then high-fived.

"Good morning campers and welcome to your first full day of lessons! It's nearly time to start learning, so grab your instruments, do your warm-ups and rock on!" Dee exclaimed from her position at the front of the hall.

"Someone's had too much coffee already." Shane sighed. He hated it when morning people were too chirpy around him whilst he was half asleep. That was a fact Nate learnt a long time ago.

"Better get going, don't want my students to beat me to class. Have a good first day." Eliza said as she got up and left the mess hall, the others following suit a few minutes later.

_CR-CR-CR_

Marie ended up being early for her first lesson, despite trying to take a long time to get ready. She was so early in fact that she ended up being the first person to arrive, apart from her instructor. As she stood there, watching the person in charge of teaching her guitar for the summer, she sighed. She wondered why she hadn't given up learning guitar by now; she'd forgotten loads of what Jason taught her earlier in the year, this class was just going to be embarrassing and awkward.

"Hey Marie! Looks like you're my first pupil." Peggy said happily as she turned around and noticed her standing in the doorway. "Come in and we'll get started."

Marie moved across the room uncertainly and took a seat before removing her guitar from its purple case.

"Shouldn't we wait for the rest of the class?" Marie asked, looking around at the empty cabin.

"Eliza didn't tell you?" Marie shook her head. "This is a one on one session."

Peggy explained how it was only beginners who were taught as part of a group, anyone with more experience was given a private lesson as it allowed them to be more specifically focused on what each artist needed to learn.

"Jason was filling me in on what he'd taught you, sounds like you're a natural so we should be able to get you quite far over the next few weeks." Peggy said as she sorted through the sheets of music she'd brought along for the lesson. Marie nodded, suddenly seeming to lose the ability to speak. She knew she needed to get past the fact that Peggy was with 'her' guy, especially when they'd be spending a lot of time together over the summer. She had to accept he wasn't hers' and it was her fault, not Peggy's.

"Are you alright?" The instructor asked as she saw the thoughtful look on Marie's face.

"Yeah, sorry, I just got distracted for a sec." Marie apologised.

"That's cool. Okay, why don't we start with some scales so I can see what chords you know, then maybe we can start to learn a song at the end of the lesson." Peggy suggested. She watched the young girl strum numerous chords and she could tell Marie had kept practising over the last few months.

Peggy had been made well aware of the situation between Jason and Marie when she agreed to start dating the oldest Grey brother. Yes, she felt bad for Marie but she cared about Jason and was happy to be with him. She expected it to be a bit awkward, in fact she had felt very nervous when Brown informed her she would be teaching the young Austen, but she'd agreed to do so because she wanted to help her and maybe even have the chance to be her friend. As she sat watching her play Peggy could tell how much Marie had changed since they first met and she couldn't understand how to other's didn't see the difference.

Marie stopped as she finished the final scale, looking up at her instructor, waiting for the next task.

"You're really good." Peggy stated, impressed. Marie shrugged, not sure she believed her. "How about we focused on playing a few songs, maybe write one or two as well." Marie could tell Peggy was making a real effort and she appreciated it.

For the remainder of the lesson the two girls worked on learning the chord progression to a recent hit song, Peggy continually being surprised by how quickly her student picked it up.

"Right, I think that's enough for today." Peggy said, ending the lesson a bit early. "You're really talented Marie, you just have to believe in yourself. I want you to practise reading music more." Peggy suggested, making some notes on what to focus on in the next lesson.

"I've never been told how to." Marie admitted as she slid her guitar back into its case. She knew how to read it for piano but it was different for guitar.

"I'll show you next lesson, it's much easier than people think and it'll help you write stuff too." Peggy said. "There's something else I want to try but we'll get to that next lesson, which I believe is Wednesday, right?" Marie nodded as she slung her guitar over her shoulder. "Right, I'll let you go early. Have a good rest of the day."

"Thanks." Marie said, crossing the cabin. "You're a good teacher Peggy; you're going to really help people learn." Marie decided she would make an effort to get on with her instructor. She may be jealous but that didn't mean she should miss out on a possible strong friendship. Marie knew she could do with all the friends she could get, especially after everything that had happened at school.

_CR-CR-CR_

Jason ran into the office cabin and slammed the door shut behind him, standing with his back against it to keep it closed. He took some deep breaths, trying to get his heart back to a normal rate after its recent increase from running across camp.

"Jason?" He jumped, hearing a British accent behind him.

"Oh, er, hi Uncle Brown." He said uncomfortably. He hadn't realised his uncle would be in the office in the middle of the day, assuming he'd be out teaching a vocal class.

"Aren't you supposed to be helping the junior campers with their first performance for pyjama jam on Friday?" Brown asked, watching as his nephew glanced nervously out the window. He wasn't originally going to allow Jason to take care of kids but then his niece, who's revelation had been as much a surprise to him as to his nephews, worked hard to persuade him, claiming it would be great for children to learn music at a younger age and, as Jason was just a big kid himself, he'd be the best person to help them.

"They're monsters!" Jason admitted. He'd tried to explain to the little kids how to look cool whilst rocking out on stage but they weren't interested. All they wanted to do was chase each other, and him, across the entire camp.

"Come out, come out where ever you are." A clearly unbroken male voice said from the other side of the door. Jason yelped.

"They're going to hurt me." He moaned, genuinely scared of the ten year olds he knew would be crowded outside the door.

"We know you're in there Jason." One very confident sounding kid said.

"Who's that?" Brown asked, laughing at the fear in his nephew's eyes.

"Freddie. I swear he's evil!" Jason whispered, hoping the kid wouldn't hear him. "Uncle Brown, you've got to help me." He said urgently. Shane had complained about being chased by screaming female fans around camp last year. Being chased by noisy little children was much worse in Jason's view.

"Okay Jason, open the door, I've got your back." Brown said.

Jason slowly opened the door, scared by the large group of children standing outside. When they saw Brown stood behind him all of their faces turned to pure innocence.

"See Jason, they aren't so bad. Go have fun; I expect a good performance on Friday." Brown said, gently nudging him out of the cabin. "He's all yours kids." He said before shutting the door, leaving Jason to the mob. He started running, the children charging after him. If you listened carefully you could hear a girly scream come from amongst the rest of the noise. Only those who knew him would realise the scream came from Jason's mouth.

_CR-CR-CR_

"Right, I better be off, I promised Connie I'd help her and Mitchie out in the kitchen." Caitlyn explained. After all the fun they had last summer Caitlyn had been only too happy to agree to help out again this year. She gave Nate a quick kiss.

"So you're leaving me all alone?" Nate asked, pulling a puppy dog face to try and persuade her to stay.

"Yeah, sorry babe that's not going to work this time. Save me a seat in the mess hall?" He promised he would before she rushed away, leaving him with nothing but the lake and his guitar. He strummed a few chords from one of his Andy Green songs. The label wanted him to do a short tour under his alternative name but that required either wearing a costume or telling the others the truth so he could appear as himself (or maybe both). He sat there staring out at the lake, trying to think of the best way to tell them.

"Nate?" Marie had decided to wander the camp grounds, trying to find all the locations for the numerous stories she'd been told about the previous summer. She'd stumbled across the lake, the same one, she assumed, which featured in almost every story about Smitchie, but discovered the wrong Grey brother sat on the dock. Nate turned around and smiled when he saw her, motioning for her to come join him. "You on your own?"

"Yeah, Caitlyn just left. How was your first day?" He asked as he put his guitar down, giving her his full attention.

"Surprisingly good. Something about this place is really inspiring." She admitted. "Though I still have one last lesson after dinner, not that anyone will tell me what it is." She was still completely in the dark about her 'group work' session.

"We'll explain later, don't worry, it's a good thing." Nate reasoned.

"Oh, okay." Marie said uncertainly, taking a seat on the log beside him. "Actually, I'm glad I found you. Could you give me a hand with something?" She asked.

"Probably, I've got some free time." He was glad she felt she could talk to him. When they'd met earlier in the year he'd felt some distance between them, but now he knew if ever he needed someone's help, she'd be there for him in an instant.

"I wrote some lyrics earlier when I had a break in lessons. I've got this idea for a song, and a reason behind it, but I'm not sure if it'll work." She knew she was probably really annoying asking him about a pointless song, but she wanted to try and get it done before pyjama jam at the end of the week and, as he was the only one who knew the secret she wanted to include in the song, he was the only one who's help she could get.

"Can I see what you've got so far?" Marie nodded, getting her blue notepad and opening it to the right page. Nate scanned the lyrics, impressed by the quality of them. "Are you trying to tell the others what happened, indirectly?" He asked, instantly guessing the meaning behind the song.

"You're good. I want it to be obvious what's meant, but not obvious that it's about me. I want to see Eliza's reaction to it in general before I tell her the specifics. Marie blushed suddenly realising she was discussing this with a guy. "I'm not sure she'll be too happy when I tell her what happened." It was one of her biggest mistakes of her year and it was killing her that Eliza didn't know.

"I think this is a good way to tell her, without actually telling her. Though she may ask who Abigail is. Do you have any ideas for music?" Marie nodded, saying that she wanted to play it on guitar if she could because she was bored of the piano.

Nate agreed to help her write it, but only if she showed the music to Peggy and let her teach her how to play it. Marie agreed, knowing it would be a way to show Peggy she trusted her and that there were no hard feelings.

As the pair worked on the song together in the thirty minutes before dinner, they didn't notice the strawberry blonde head hidden behind a nearby tree. Alexandra had taken a dislike to Marie instantly that morning and that feeling grew as she saw her sitting alone with _her_ favourite Connect 3 member. But now she knew Marie's deep dark secret, she was determined to use it to her advantage. She smirked listening a while longer before slinking off to the mess hall as the dinner bell rang, leaving the two seventeen year olds unaware of her presence.

**AN: I really hope you liked this chapter, please leave your thoughts, they help me to write better and I appreciate them a lot. **


	7. Another Side To Marie

Chapter 7 – Another Side To Marie

Nate and Marie entered the mess hall to find it packed. It had taken them a little longer than anticipated to walk there from the lake and as a result they ended up at the back of the queue. When they finally arrive at their table the others had already finished eating.

"You guys are very late, where've you been?" Eliza asked as Marie took a seat between her and Shane, Nate sitting opposite beside Mitchie and Caitlyn. Marie was surprised to see Mitchie and Shane actually sitting at the same table, though she didn't miss the glares they kept throwing each other. The break up had left a lot of bitterness between them, with Mitchie even threatening to walk off the tour. It had taken a lot of persuasion to get her to stay and to agree to go back to camp too.

"We were working on a song down by the lake." Nate explained

"I found Nate sitting all alone and asked him for a hand with one I want to perform on Friday." Marie said.

"So you weren't alone for long then." Caitlyn commented. She'd noticed the two of them had spent a lot of time talking over the last few months, more than she and Marie ever had.

"Yeah, Ri kept me company thankfully." Nate said. Jason looked between his brother and Marie, surprised by the friendship he seemed to have completely miss develop. He frowned, not sure how he felt about it.

"Oh look, she's trying to look cool, that's so sweet." Marie heard someone say loudly behind her. She turned around to see Alexandra Blossom stood a few metres away, smirking in her direction. "Isn't it a shame the only friends she has hang out with her purely because they know her sister." The two girls who were stood behind the strawberry blonde 'awed' before giggling. Marie walked over to them, standing inches away from Alexandra.

"What _is_ your problem?" She said.

"Marie, leave it." Eliza called, having seen her little sister get herself into this situation before.

"Yes Marie, listen to your sister. Don't get into anything you can't handle little girl." Alexandra said, her smirk growing wider. Marie growled in annoyance, grabbing her drink can tightly. An idea came to mind.

"You really don't want to mess with me." Marie threatened. She'd had plenty of experience with girls like her.

"Oh I'm _so_ scared; I'm shaking in my stilettos." Alexandra said sarcastically. Marie glanced down, eyeing the other girl's bright red Prada shoes.

"And what nice stilettos they are." Marie glanced over her shoulder. "I'm going to get dessert, you guys want anything?" She asked her group who all looked back at her confused by the sudden change of subject. They didn't notice Marie's hand slowly turning pouring her drink upside down right above Alexandra's feet. Her diet coke splashed onto the red material, ruining it instantly.

"Oh my God you bitch!" Alexandra screech, many of the campers had to cover their ears as protection against the sound.

"Oops, I'm so sorry, that was totally an accident." Marie said in a clearly fake apologetic tone. She started to move away towards the food table when the now coke covered girl grabbed her by the elbow, her fake nails piercing Marie's skin.

"You are _so_ going to pay for that." Alexandra hissed.

"Whatever." Marie replied, pulling out of her grip and going to get her pudding. The others watched in shock, not having seen that side of Marie before. Alexandra turned on her ruined heel and stormed off, more determined to follow through on her plan for Friday than ever.

_CR-CR-CR_

"You're forcing me to be uncool, I don't like it when I have to be uncool." Brown said to Marie when she was stood in his office a little while later.

"But Brown she deserved it!" Marie claimed.

"That's no excuse Marie. I'm sorry but I have no choice but to ban you from Friday's Pyjama Jam." He stated, sad that he had too. He'd seen Marie performing on the opening night and had been impressed; he was even looking forward to seeing her perform again.

"That is _so_ unfair!" Marie complained.

"It's only one jam. There are plenty of others." He said. "Now I believe you have a group work session to be getting to so you are free to go." He couldn't help feeling guilty as he watched the young girl trudge away sadly, clearly disappointed.

"Stupid Alexandra, stupid Brown, stupid Pyjama Jam." Marie muttered as she walked to the cabin where her extra session was going to take place, still completely unaware what it was about. She was the first to arrive and took at seat at the piano in the room, playing a simple tune to get her mind off what had happened. She should have noticed Brown was watching in the mess hall. When she'd reached the food table he'd been right beside her, informing her that he was very disappointed and that he expected to see her in his office as soon as dinner was over. She sighed, thinking how unreasonable he was being.

"Oh, er, hi." Jason said nervously as he entered the room, realising she was the only other person inside. "Are the others not here yet?" He asked.

"No, guess we're a bit early." Marie replied, not looking up from the piano keys. There was an awkward silence.

"I'll be right back." Jason said before rushing back out of the cabin. Marie looked sadly at the spot he had occupied seconds before. He couldn't even bare to be in the same room as just her.

_CR-CR-CR_

"Peggy." Jason called as he noticed his girlfriend walking nearby.

"Hey." She said, wandering over to him and sliding her arm round his waist. "Aren't you supposed to be in that group work thing now?" She asked.

"Well, yeah, but I was early and..." He trailed off, embarrassed about why he left.

"It was only Marie in there?" Peggy said, surprising him.

"How'd you know?" He asked.

"I know you too well." She replied. "Jase, you have to deal with this. You two have to spend the summer together. It's bad enough that Shane and Mitchie aren't speaking, this whole thing between you and Marie makes it all the more unbearable at our table." She explained and Jason knew she had a point.

"I don't know how to fix it." He admitted.

"Talk to her. That stopping is what started this whole thing." Peggy said.

"It's not that easy."

"But it could be. She's hurt Jase, but you can fix that, you just have to show you care." Peggy was aware of another solution but she didn't want to suggest it yet, wanting to hang on just a little bit longer.

"I'll try." He conceded. Peggy smiled leaning up to plant a gentle kiss on his lips.

"That reminds me," Jason said when she pulled away, "the label want us to make an appearance at a restaurant nearby on Saturday. We've got a table booked for eight pm."

"Okay. What type of place have they chosen this time?" She asked, having grown used to the situation.

"Casual Italian, it's about thirty minutes away so I'll meet you outside your cabin at half seven?" He suggested.

"Okay, that sounds good. Now get to your last session, don't keep the others waiting." She gave him one last kiss before allowing him to leave. She sighed. Though she was happy with how things were, she couldn't help but wish sometimes that they were different.

_CR-CR-CR_

"I still can't believe Brown completely banned you from the jam. He didn't completely ban us last year. Are you sure he didn't hint at a way you could get around it?" Caitlyn asked.

"Nope, I'm just not allowed to perform at all." Marie replied.

"I'll still help you with the song if you want? You can perform it at another jam maybe?" Nate suggested.

"Thanks, I'd like to actually finish it, rather than just leave it incomplete." Nate smiled at her. He was exactly the same, never leaving a song unfinished. Caitlyn glanced between them, not sure she was comfortable with the amount of private time and conversations they were having.

The door was slowly opened and Jason walked in looking fairly sheepish about the fact he was last to arrive.

"Sorry, I got sidetracked." He admitted before taking a seat.

"Now everyone's here can you _please_ tell me what this extra session is about and why we're the only ones who have it?" Marie asked, getting bored of all the secrecy.

"Well." Nate started, being allowed to tell her as it had originally been his idea. "Do you remember months ago we were on bus 3, the day you told me you played piano and wanted to play guitar?" Marie nodded. "You suggested we should all write a song together and I thought that was a good idea." Marie could see where this was going. "Basically the seven of us are going to work together to write a song using our various skills and then, if it's good enough, there is a slight possibility that the label will get us to record it." Nate finished.

"Really?" Marie asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I was telling them about the idea and suggested they could release it as a charity single, create some good publicity. They seemed pretty keen. We're supposed to let them know when we are going to debut it so they can come listen." He said. Nate was hopeful that this would also provide good career opportunities for both Marie and Caitlyn, though he didn't want to get their hopes up too much.

"Let's say we'll open or close Final Jam with it." Shane suggested, knowing their Uncle would already be expecting them to perform that night. "It'll give us plenty of time to work on it but also a deadline to work towards." The others agreed.

"Do we all have to be here every session?" Mitchie asked. She found it hard enough having to see Shane at meal times, to know she'd have one session with him every day made it even worse.

"Yes." Jason said. "If it's a group piece then we all need to be here every time to make sure we agree, surely?" His response was partly selfish; if they all had to be there then he'd get to see Marie every day, even if he didn't talk to her, it was better than nothing. He also wanted Marie and his brother back together and if forcing them to spend time together on a daily basis was the way to achieve that, so be it.

"Jason's right." Caitlyn spoke up, "We should be here every time. It's only one hour five days a week, it's not that much." She reasoned.

"Sounds good to me." Marie said. She wasn't about to turn down the opportunity to work with five of the best musicians in America, and a future top music producer. They may be her friends but she was still a fan at heart.

"Where do we start then?" Eliza asked, keen to get going.

"I reckon we should focus on the lyrics first." Mitchie suggested.

"I always start with the music." Shane stated at exactly the same time. The two exes glared at each other.  
"Don't we need to decide what it's going to be about first? Marie asked quickly, trying to prevent the former couple from starting to argue. "I mean, a love song would have totally different music to a breakup song or one about crime or something."

"Yeah, you're right." Nate said.

"So what should we make it about?" Caitlyn asked. They all sat thinking for a moment until Jason had an idea.

"We're all friends here."

"No we're not." Shane mutter, the others throwing him unimpressed looks while Mitchie just glared at the floor.

"As I was saying, we're all friends so why don't we write about that?" Jason suggested.

"What, friendship?" Eliza clarified.

"Well yeah and how people help each other."

"I like it." Marie said, causing a smile to erupt onto Jason's face.

They worked together discussing ideas for theme for a while longer, writing it all down in a notebook which they agreed Eliza would keep hold of (she was the most reliable one of the group). When the bell rang, indicating the end of the session and the start of free time, they had nearly ten pages of ideas to work with. They slowly dispersed from the cabin until it was only Eliza and Mitchie left.

"Are you okay?" Eliza asked as they wandered back towards their cabin. Mitchie had seemed rather quiet and upset all session.

"I just wish it was easier, you know?" Mitchie sighed. This summer was supposed to be the perfect return to Camp Rock. She was supposed to be spending the evening out on the lake with Shane going in circles on a canoe.

"It will be eventually." Eliza said, putting an arm around her friend. "You know you can talk to me about it whenever you want, yeah?" Mitchie knew she _could_ she just wasn't sure she wanted to. It wasn't anything against Eliza but she was Shane's sister and as a result Mitchie wasn't sure she was comfortable telling her how she felt.

"I promised Ella I'd help her with a song she's working on. I'll see you later okay?" Mitchie said, giving her friend a quick hug before walking away. Eliza decided to head down to the lake, thinking it would be a peaceful place to spend her evening. She wanted some time to think.

**AN: What did you think of this chapter? I'm sad to say this story is getting very few reviews and it's making me wonder if people don't like it. If you could let me knew your thoughts, even if it's to say this story is rubbish and I should stop writing it, I would be hugely appreciative. **


	8. Evening Aftermath Part 1

**AN: Here's another chapter to celebrate the release of CR2 last night, even though I haven't yet seen it, though I gather it was a hit.**

Chapter 8 - Evening Aftermath Part 1:

As Mitchie approached the rehearsal cabin she was supposed to be helping Ella in, she could hear music being played inside, really good music. She glanced in through one of the windows to see Ella bouncing around a small stage, singing enthusiastically into a microphone, accompanied by two guitarists and a drummer. Mitchie knocked on the door, hoping it would be heard above the music.

"Come in." Ella called, knowing who it would be. "Mitchie!" Ella squealed as she entered the room, being instantly engulfed by the hyper girl. "Look, I'm in a band! How cool is that? And it's better than Tess's band because we're all involved and we have instruments." Mitchie was pleased to see her friend so happy.

"That's great Ella. You guys sounded really good. Are you going to perform together at final jam?" She asked.

"Definitely! We just need a name and a song and we'll be good to go." Ella explained. "I totally need to introduce you to everyone! This is Fliss and Kate, they're our guitarists. And on drums we've got Melissa," Ella said, before whispering to Mitchie, "she's insanely talented."

"I knew you two would work well together." Mitchie commented as she realised the drummer was Caitlyn and Marie's roommate.

"Can we take a break?" Fliss asked, putting her bright pink guitar on its stand.

"Yeah, sure. I need to chat to Mitch anyway." Ella replied. The others put their instruments to rest. "Meet back here in half an hour?" They agreed before heading their separate ways.

"So how was the group session?" Ella asked as they took a seat on the edge of the stage.

"Fine, though I'm not sure I'm ready to spend an hour with Shane every day."

"You survived the tour." Ella pointed out. Mitchie shrugged, knowing her friend was right but also knowing things felt even more awkward than they did back then.

"This song you want help with, is it for your band?" Mitchie asked, moving the conversation on.

"No, I want to perform it solo at one of the jams, I think." Ella had never performed on her own before but, with Tess gone and Peggy there as an instructor, Ella saw this as the summer to challenge herself.

"What's it about?" Mitchie enquired. She liked to know the reason behind a song before she started to work on writing it. Ella blushed self-consciously.

"Telling a guy how much you like him." She admitted embarrassedly.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with Barron, would it?" Mitchie asked, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

"Maybe." Ella admitted, biting her lip nervously. Mitchie chuckled at her actions.

"You two are so cute." She gushed.

"Alright, whatever, can we just focus on the song?" Ella said. She still wasn't used to being with Barron and everyone knowing, they'd kept it secret for a few months and had only decided to become public at Camp Rock because they couldn't imagine spending the summer together but not acting like a couple. She wasn't completely comfortable talking about it with anyone else yet.

"Show me what you've got so far." Mitchie instructed, settling in to spend the rest of that night in that cabin.

_CR-CR-CR_

Eliza wandered slowly towards the dock. The others were right; she'd fallen in love with the camp after only a few days. She could understand why they'd wanted to come back for another summer. The sun was slowly setting, turning the sky a warm shade of orange. As she neared the dock she could see the outline of someone sitting alone near the edge and as she got closer she could hear the mystery person was playing a song. She listened to them strum their guitar and was surprised when she heard a very familiar voice start to sing.

_They say you'll know_

_When you really find the one_

_But it's hard to tell_

_With the damage that's been done_

_Well I'd like to say that it's your fault_

_But I know better_

_Cause I'm a fool to think you'd wait around forever_

_Maybe I could have loved you_

_Maybe I could have shown_

_That I still do care about you _

_More than you could know_

_Don't say it's too late to try_

_To make it right_

_Oh to make it right_

Eliza listened carefully to the words. It didn't take her long to realise what her younger brother was singing about. Though Shane acted like he was over her around the others, Eliza had seen him alone a few times on the bus, staring at a photo of them on that very dock.

_I didn't know how good you were for me_

_Now it's clear I'm seeing all that we could be_

_And I know that it's my fault_

_But I'm gonna treat you better_

_Cause if I had one wish_

_You'd be with me forever_

_Maybe I could have loved you_

_Maybe I could have shown_

_That I still do care about you _

_More than you could know_

_Don't say it's too late to try _

_To make it right_

Eliza slowly walked towards him, not wanting to interrupt him mid flow. If only she could persuade him to tell Mitchie he still cared, maybe they'd realise they both wanted the same thing.

_Oh is there something I could say_

_Show me how to break it down_

_So before you walk away_

_Take the time to turn around_

_Listen to me now_

_Maybe I could have loved you_

_Maybe I could have shown_

_That I still do care about you more..._

The dock creaked under her foot and Shane practically leapt from his position, spinning around to see who had found him.

"Jeez Liza, you scared me!" He exclaimed. He'd thought for an instant it was Mitchie, making him relieved to find his sister instead.

"Sorry I didn't mean to overhear I was just looking for somewhere to relax for the evening." Eliza explained. Shane sat down again, staring out over the lake.

"You can sit here if you want, I don't mind." He watched people out in canoes and sighed. Eliza sat beside him, the lake also drawing her attention. "That should be me and Mitchie." Shane stated. Eliza wasn't sure if he was talking to her or just muttering to himself. "I can't believe I screwed up so badly." He groaned, picking up a pebble from beside him and chucking it into the lake, where it landed with a loud splash.

"You could fix things." Eliza said, her eyes not leaving the water.

"I can't sis, you've seen how things are between us, she'll barely even look at me. Why would she give me another chance when I ruined things so much the first time? I really hurt her and I hate it." He sighed sadly.

Eliza turned to look at her brother. In the light of the setting sun Shane suddenly looked a lot older than his nineteen years. She had watched him and Mitchie fall apart, watched them argue over the simplest of things, watched the label force them into situations which caused controversy both between them and within the press. What they had fought through on the tour would pull a long term married couple apart; let alone a couple of teenagers, no matter how in love they were. It had made Eliza decide that when she got into a relationship she would keep it a secret. She didn't want the label interfering.

"Shane, you _can_ fix this. Don't give up. You've seen what it's done to Jason and Ri, do you really want things to turn that bad between you and Mitchie?" Shane sighed, knowing Eliza was right.

"I want her back Liza." Shane revealed. It was the first time he had admitted it out loud. "I just don't know how to achieve it."

"That song's a start." Eliza said. "How about I help you?" Shane nodded reluctantly. He wasn't sure getting Eliza involved was the best idea. "I bet you, by the end of summer you two will be back to Smitchie." She said with a smile. She knew it would be good for both of them, they were better together, it just seemed natural.

"Where do we start?" Shane asked. He'd been without the girl who made his life worthwhile for too long; he wanted her back in his arms on a canoe going in circles as soon as he could. He would try to do anything to make it right, even if it meant he had to be less stubborn.

"Leave it to me. I have a cunning plan." He looked sceptical but as he trusted her he gave her the benefit of the doubt. "How about you play me that song again? I want to hear it properly." She said and he obliged, picking up his guitar once more. As they sat there under the sunset Eliza felt closer to her middle brother than she had before.

**AN: I hope L is for Left liked her special appearance. That may not be the last we see of Ella's band... Since this is a short chapter the next part will be up later tonight, it continues straight on from this, looking at what happened to the others after the group session (I think it reads easier split in two). Please review, you know they make my day. **


	9. Evening Aftermath Part 2

**AN: Yeah two chapters in one day. I'm a rebel I know. Enjoy!**

Chapter 8: Evening Aftermath Part 2:

"I'm really glad we're all working on something together. I reckon it could be the best song ever." Marie said as she walked back to her cabin with Nate and Caitlyn.

"I agree. We've got so many good ideas there's no way it can be a flop."

They walked in a comfortable silence until they arrive outside the melody cabin.

"Here you are ladies" Nate said, "I guess I'll see you in the morning, you campers do have a bed time after all." He teased.

"Night Nate." Marie said, giving him a hug before heading inside.

"Night Caity, I love you." Nate said, leaning in to give her a kiss, but she turned away so his lips met her cheek. He saw she was giving him an unimpressed looked. "What's up?" He asked, concerned.

"Nothing. Goodnight." She said unhappily before storming up the steps and slamming the cabin door behind her. Nate stood staring at the cabin, confused as to what he had done to upset her so badly, before turning and retreating to his own cabin.

Caitlyn fell onto her bed with an angry grunt. Marie stared at her friend, unsure what was wrong.

"Is everything okay?" She'd left Caitlyn and Nate alone for only a few seconds, she couldn't believe they'd had a fight in that short an amount of time, especially when Nate liked to avoid confrontation as much as possible.

"Fine." Caitlyn muttered her head covered by a pillow as she tried to calm down. She took a deep breath before sitting up and staring at the girl on the bed opposite her. A look of pure annoyance covered her features as she decided to give a more honest answer. "You know, just because you lost Jason doesn't mean you can take Nate." She regretted the words almost the instant she said them. Marie's mouth dropped open in shock at the accusation that had just been thrown at her, her eyes filled with masses of hurt. Marie gripped her teddy tightly, trying to fight the tears as her brain tried to work out how to respond. She was sick of people making assumptions about her.

"Marie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that." Caitlyn quickly apologised as she saw her friend's reaction, knowing she had been wrong.

"But you did." Marie stated quietly. "You really think I'd do that to you?"

"No, of course not!" Caitlyn said, leaping from her bed and crossing the room, taking a seat on the end of Marie's. "It's just, you two have spent a lot of time talking to each other recently and I guess I just got jealous that he's helping you write songs and stuff. It wasn't fair of me, I'm really sorry." Caitlyn apologised, feeling very guilty about her assumption. Marie stared at her bed cover. She could understand why Caitlyn felt that way, realising that maybe she had depended on Nate too much recently.

"Did he tell you anything?" Marie asked, unsure what Caitlyn knew. She should have told her good girl friend, rather than him, but she'd felt less comfortable telling Caitlyn everything.

"No. You told him, he keeps things secret." Caitlyn said. It was one of the things she loved the most about him, knowing she could always trust him to keep something to himself. Marie sighed, holding her teddy a little closer as she decided it was time to tell her.

"Do you know what it's like to go back to a school full of people you've known most of your life when you've been away from it for two months with famous people?" Caitlyn nodded her head. She'd never really thought about how things might have been for Marie once she went home, but she knew how differently she'd been treated once she got back.

"It wasn't how I expected." Marie continued, "They'd read all the celebrity gossip sites, believed everything that was published. They'd seen Trina Baines ask Jason about my relationship with him and then, of course, they'd heard all about how Eliza was Connect 3's sister and not an Austen at all. They made me very aware of this fact, claimed I lied to them about her being my sister just to get popular. I lost every friend I had Caitlyn, those that had just hung around with me because of my sister and those who had been my friends for a long time. It's pretty hard turning up to school every day having no one to talk to and knowing everyone is talking about you behind your back continuously." She wiped away a few tears. "With that and everything that was going on with Jason, plus Eliza being too busy to speak to me," the bitterness was clear in her voice, "I just needed someone to talk to." She admitted. "Nate rang me one night and I just cracked, he got me to tell him everything. After that we just kept having weekly calls." She glanced up at her friend, noticing the sympathetic look she was being given.

"You could have talked to me." Caitlyn said kindly. She felt like such a bad friend to not even have realised things were so rough for Marie.

"I know, it was just easier with Nate. I don't know why, it just was. He helped me a lot Caity, I'm not sure what I would have done without him, but through everything it was only ever friends talking, _never_ anything more." She promised, sighing before admitting something she'd barely accepted herself. "I may not act like it when he's around but, if I'm completely honest, I'm still not over Jason. I know it's ridiculous, he's clearly moved on and that's great for him but I'd never felt that way about anyone before, so it's hard to get past it, especially with how things ended." Marie had spent hours wondering how the last few months would have been if she hadn't turned her head. She still wasn't sure why she did it, she had just felt it was the right choice in the moment.

Caitlyn shuffled closer to her friend and wrapped her arms around her tightly. Though she'd been annoyed earlier, she was now glad her boyfriend had been there for Marie.

"You can borrow Nate whenever you want to."

_CR-CR-CR_

When Nate walked back into his cabin he noticed Jason and Peggy sat together on Jason's bed, their arms wrapped around each other.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." Nate apologised, about to walk back out when Jason insisted he stay.

"I was just telling Peggy how evil small children are." Jason explained.

"You're twenty-one, they're ten. You should be able to control them." Peggy teased.

Jason watched his brother slowly pace across the room, knowing it was a sign something was wrong.

"What's the matter with you?" Jason asked. Nate stopped, not even realising he had been pacing. He thought for a moment.

"Something's up with Caitlyn. I think I did something wrong but I don't know what." He admitted

"What happened?" Peggy asked.

"She refused to kiss me then slammed a door in my face."

"I don't blame her." Jason muttered. He had a pretty good idea why Caitlyn was annoyed with his youngest brother, he had a similar feeling.

"What do you mean?" Nate asked, wondering if Jason was annoyed at him too, becoming even more confused.

"I'd be annoyed too if I found my boyfriend constantly talking to and spending time alone with my best friend." Jason said slightly grumpily.

"Well you clearly _are_ annoyed." Nate said. He could understand exactly what Jason's tone of voice meant.

"You turned up late to dinner because you were talking to Marie, you promised to spend time helping her write a song, even though Mitchie's in charge of song writing _and _ for the latter half of the world tour you were on the phone to her all the time off in private." Jason snapped, surprising even himself.

"This is about Marie? She's just my friend Jason. It is possible to be just friends with a girl." This wasn't the only time the two of them had fought about the young Austen. Nate's extra knowledge about Marie's situation made him a lot more protective of her.

"I think I'm going to go." Peggy said, removing herself from Jason's arms. She'd had a front row seat for one too many discussions about Marie.

"You don't have to go." Jason said, feeling bad for causing his girlfriend to leave.

"Its fine babe, I need to catch up with some other camp people anyway. I'll see you in the morning." The pair shared a quick kiss before Peggy left the boys to their argument.

"I'm just saying I get why Caitlyn would be upset about you spending a lot of time with Marie." Jason said. In all honesty he was jealous of all the time Nate got to be with her.

"It could have been you dude." The words slipped from his mouth before he had time to think about them. Hurt flashed through Jason but he forced it away, not wanting to let the situation get to him again.

"Yeah, well, she moved on, I accepted it. That's life." Jason said grumpily. Nate considered lying to his brother, but he'd watched him hurt for too long to let him suffer more.

"She didn't move on Jason." Nate admitted. He and Shane had planned to wait a while before they told him their information, but Nate didn't want to be the reason his brother kept hurting.

"Yes she did, you told me yourself. Two weeks after the tour she got together with that Finn guy she used to know and was perfectly happy despite everything that happened." Jason still felt bitter about how soon Marie had moved on.

"We we're wrong man. I mean, I knew she hadn't been with Finley for the last two months because of something she told me, but it turns out she was _never_ with him. Caitlyn made an assumption and she was wrong." Nate watched as his brother's face turned from bitterness to shocked realisation.

"She never dated Finn?" Jason asked.

"She hasn't dated anyone since the tour."

"So that means Peggy and I..." Jason trailed off, feeling guilty.

"Got together before Marie found anyone, making it seem like you moved on from her really fast, yeah." Nate clarified.

Jason walked back to his bed, climbing under the covers and turning off his bedside lamp. Nate sighed, knowing his brother was reliving everything that had happened over the last few months. He felt slightly guilty, he knew, ultimately, someone would get hurt. He was angry at the label for the situation they'd caused and whilst the consequences had nearly made him change his mind about telling the truth, he knew it was only fair for Jason to know the reality of the situation.


	10. Secret Hide Out

Chapter 10: Secret Hide Out

The rest of the week passed in a blur of lessons, songs and awkward silences. As Marie sat in her guitar lesson on Friday afternoon, she found she was relieved to not be performing that evening. Though she'd finished the song by Wednesday, she had lost her nerve to admit the truth.

"How are you enjoying camp so far?" Peggy asked as she helped Marie tune her guitar. The two girls had become a lot closer over the week, having worked on Marie's song together. Peggy was impressed with the young girl's natural talent and had moved her lessons on to much harder tasks.

"It's good, though a lot more work than I was expecting." She'd barely had a break all week and though she knew a lot of it was due to her own choices of what to spend the summer studying, she'd hoped for a bit of free time to actually enjoy being out in nature.

"It'll ease down next week; the initial week is always the craziest." Peggy explained from her knowledge of previous years.

"Are you looking forward to pyjama jam tonight?" Marie asked. At least Brown hadn't banned her from going. She was looking forward to seeing what the competition was like.

"Definitely, it's always good to see campers performing after the first week, you can see how much they've improved over the week and where they need to do more work." Peggy said. She thought back to pyjama jam a year ago where she had only been back up to Tess alongside Mitchie. 'How things change' she thought.

"Are you going to perform at any jams?" Marie asked. She knew that the other celebrity instructors had performances lined up, as well as the big group performance at the final jam.

"Brown's asked me to perform at least once but I'm not sure which jam to do it at." Peggy admitted. She was aware they weren't getting much guitar work done but Marie had worked hard all week so it was okay.

"I hope you do, you're the person here that people are most inspired by, even more so than Connect 3 now." Marie had heard many people saying how they wanted to be like Peggy and, most of the time, Marie agreed with them.

They started to work for a bit when they noticed that half their lesson had gone. They practised the song they had started working on the day before and then Peggy informed Marie of pieces and exercises to work on over the weekend.

As Marie was packing her stuff away her mind floated back to what Caitlyn had been telling her that morning. They'd been discussing final jam, which was still a month away. When Marie had said she hadn't started on her final jam piece yet, her two cabin mates had been shocked. The resultant conversation had gotten Marie thinking about what she would perform. She reasoned that, as this summer was about enhancing her new music skills, she shouldn't play the piano, meaning she would have to play guitar. As her knowledge of chords was lacking, and she felt guilty for not giving Peggy a chance before now, she wanted to ask for help.

"Peggy?"" She said when her guitar was safely away in it's case, "Can I ask you a favour?"

"Sure." Peggy responded.

"I was wondering if you'd maybe help me with my piece for final jam?" Peggy's smile grew wider than Marie had ever seen her smile be.

"Of course." Peggy agreed instantly. "We'll make it _so_ good the judges won't be able to help but choose you as the winner." In all honesty she really like Marie and if it hadn't been for Jason she felt they would have been good friends. She was more than happy to help her out.

"Thanks. Well I'll see you later tonight then?" Marie said, before slipping out the classroom. She was quite glad she'd had the chance to get to know Peggy; she could understand why the others liked her so much.

As Marie walked away from the guitar cabin she didn't see the large man shaped blur running in her direction, at least not until they collided and she went crashing to the ground.

"Ow!" She complained.

"Oh man, I'm so sorry, are you okay?" Jason asked, concerned about her, whilst glancing over his shoulder anxiously.

"Yeah, no damage done." She said as he helped her up. He glanced backwards again.

"Good. Now run!" He gripped her hand in his and set off at full speed, pulling her across camp.

"Jase slow down." She said, trying desperately to catch her breath as he continued to drag her along, running up one of the hills towards the edge of camp and into the woods.

"Can't. Not safe." He said, glancing behind them once more.

"Not safe? What are you talking about?" She dug her feet into the ground and yanked her hand from his grip.

"Marie, they can find us here, come on." He led her a bit further into the woods to a spot he'd only been to once before, a place where he felt safe. He took a seat on the small bench carved out of an old tree trunk. Marie looked around, amazed by the hidden woodland hide out.

"This place is beautiful." She said, taking in the bluebells sprouting from the muddy ground, the moss climbing it's way up the trees which reached high into the sky, the sun peaking through the thick mass of green leaves. "Who are we hiding from?" She asked, taking a seat beside him. Jason looked at her slightly surprised, he had expected her to walk away and leave him behind once they stopped running, yet there she sat, willing to be alone with him.

"The kids." Jason muttered. Marie looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Little children are scary!" He claimed making Marie chuckle.

"We seriously just ran halfway across camp to escape some ten year olds?" She asked, feeling slightly sorry for him.

"Maybe." He muttered. "One of them bit me Ri!" He showed her the teeth marks, still very visible on his arm.

"Jeez." She said, "How small are their teeth?" She joked. Jason turned his back on her grumpily. "Oh come on Jase, I was only joking!" He still refused to look at her so she gently placed a hand on his shoulder. It was almost impossible for him to ignore the tingle her touch caused. "What if I promise to help you with the little monsters?" Marie suggested, even though she knew it would mean even less free time this summer. Jason turned to look at her.

"You'd do that?" He asked. Marie nodded, though she was suddenly not so sure. "That would be awesome." He turned back and smiled at her before giving her a hug. She tensed at the action but eventually relaxed into it. She had missed his touch. When they pulled apart his gaze didn't leave her face. She gradually grew uncomfortable.

"Do I have stuff on my face or something?" She asked awkwardly. Jason shook his head, looking away.

"I missed you Ri." He admitted. She looked at him with a small smile.

"I missed you too Jay." She replied. Silence hung in the air for a moment as the two former friends realised just how true those statements were.

"It sucks that you got banned from tonight's jam." Jason said, trying to make conversation.

"There'll be other jams." Marie reasoned. She was already forming plans for next week's Camp Fire Jam.

"How's your guitar learning going? Peggy says you're her best student." Marie inwardly sighed; she should have expected he'd bring Peggy up.

"She's a really good teacher, I've learned loads from her." Marie replied. Silence fell again as neither knew what to say, but this time it was comfortable, they were happy just to be spending time in each other's company.

"Nate told me about Finn." Jason blurted out suddenly. He'd been having an inner argument as to whether to bring it up or not.

"What, about how Caitlyn totally miss read things and thought I'd been dating him all this time and decided it was a good idea to tell everyone." Jason nodded, "I'm not even sure where she got the idea from. I only saw Finn once, about two weeks after the tour, where we realised we'd both grown up a lot and become very different people to those we knew years ago. Things became pretty awkward after that. It wasn't very easy to slip back into being friends with him." As Marie said it Jason couldn't help but smile a little bit. Hearing the truth from her was much more reassuring than hearing it from Nate.

"So has there been anyone, more than a friend, in your life lately?" Jason didn't know what made him say it, he didn't want to make things awkward again when they'd only just been sorted out, but the words just flowed from his mouth uncontrollably. Marie glanced up at him, unsure what to say. She focused her attention on her hands before replying.

"No. It's been a crazy few months, there hasn't really been time. I'm happy being single." If she'd looked up she would have seen just how much joy this little bit of information brought to the twenty-one year old she was sat beside. "I'm glad you and Peggy finally realised you would be good together." She said, feeling the need to prove to him that she was okay with the situation, even if it wasn't true.

"What do you mean 'finally realised'?" Jason asked.

"Back in New York it was _so_ obvious there was something there between you, but you both refused to acknowledge it." Marie explained, "When Liza told me you were together I was glad you'd both come to your senses." In truth she spent three days in her bedroom crying, but she could pretend she was glad.

Jason wished his relationship with Peggy had been that simple.

"Marie, there's something I have to tell you about Peggy and me." Jason started to say. Not everyone knew, he'd told Nate and Shane but the girls were unaware. "The thing is..."

"We're going to get you!" Jason was interrupted by a small boy yelling these words as the group of junior rockers appeared just beyond where he and Marie sat. Jason groaned, it had been a week and already he was sick of these kids. He was sure his uncle had put him in charge of them just to be mean.

"Come on, let's get them back." Marie whispered standing up. "Not if we get you first!" She yelled at the kids in a mock threatening voice before grabbing Jason's hand and, much like he had done earlier, starting to run. However, this time they were chasing towards, rather than away from, the children.

_CR-CR-CR_

Eliza sat on one of the free beds in Nate's cabin. She had asked to meet Nate and Caitlyn there after their final classes of the day to get their help.

"Basically we need to force them to be together otherwise they'll never sort things out." She reasoned.

"Do you really think that's the best idea?" Caitlyn replied from her position within Nate's arms. "If we do it by force they may just rebel against it."

"I think Eliza's right." Nate aired his view, "The main problem is that they just won't talk to each other. If they just discussed things I think they'd realise they still feel the same way and everything would get resolved."

"Well then, how do we get them to talk? They avoid each other during the day, at meals they sit at opposite ends of the table and in our group sessions they either ignore each other or argue." Caitlyn said.

"Easy." The two girls looked at Nate expectantly. "We just lock them in a cabin together and don't let them come out. They won't sit there in complete silence, this is Shane and Mitchie we are talking about after all. They might fight for a bit but eventually someone will say something that will make them start a more friendly conversation and things will develop from there.

"I doubt it's going to be that simple." Caitlyn said pessimistically.

"It's worth a try." Eliza reasoned, "But we can't keep them locked in a cabin forever."

"We could give them two options as to how to get us to let them out, either talk to each other or." Caitlyn stopped suddenly as the door opened and one of the subjects of their conversation entered.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Shane asked as he walked to his bed and flopped down onto it. "Teaching is hard." He moaned.

"Yeah and you've got four more weeks of it." Eliza said.

"Don't remind me." Shane sighed before sitting up. "What were you guys talking about?" The others shared a brief awkward glance.

"Jason and Marie." Nate said, lying smoothly.

"What about them?" Shane asked, expecting some good gossip.

"Just how they should really get over their whole awkward arguing fall out thing and go back to being friends already." Caitlyn said, making it sound as though they really had been discussing them.

"Well if Jason just told her the truth things would probably resolve a lot fast." Shane said before noticing the look Nate was giving him clearly trying to get him to shut up. He'd forgotten only he and his brothers knew.

"The truth about what?" Eliza asked, confused.

"Er, about how, erm, you know..." Shane was atrocious at lying on the spur of the moment.

"How he thought Marie was dating Finn and how much her actions before that last show hurt him. If he talked her that then she might be more willing to sort things out, right Shane?" Nate said rapidly, covering for his brother. Eliza eyed Nate suspiciously but shrugged it off as her phone started to ring. Noticing the name flashing on the screen she realised it was a call she wanted to take, but not in front of present company.

"Sorry I have to take this." She apologised before answering and heading to the door. "Hi, one sec." She made sure she was far away from the cabin with no one behind her before she started to talk again. "I wasn't expecting you to call."

"Are you okay to talk? I'm not interrupting?" The person on the other end of the phone asked.

"No, I was just with Shane, Nate and Caitlyn but I'm alone now so it's fine." Eliza explained.

"They're not going to get annoyed at you for talking to me, are they?"

"They don't know it's you and even if they do find out, they have no right to say who I can and can't talk to, it's my choice." Eliza said. Though she did feel guilty about keeping this a secret from her friends she could predict what their reaction to it would be. As she continued the phone conversation she wandered across camp, coming to a stop at the edge of the woods.

"I'm surprised by how talented some of the people here are, if I'm honest. I can understand why the label identifies it as a main place to find new artists." She said, having been on the phone for nearly thirty minutes talking about her summer so far. "I should probably go, it's almost dinner time."

"Thank you for talking to me Eliza, you don't understand how much it means." The voice on the other end of the line replied. "I miss them." The person muttered.

"They'll come around eventually." Eliza said reassuringly. "Oh, I almost forgot, Marie is inviting our parents to Final Jam with her two tickets, meaning I have two spare ones. I'd like you to come." Yes, the others would probably kill her for it, but she felt it was the right thing to do.

"Really?" The person said in disbelief, "You're sure?" Eliza said she was. "Thank you."

"I really should go now." Eliza said as she watched a group of squealing ten year old run past. "It was good talking again."

"We're going to get you," She heard a familiar voice yell and spun around to see Marie and Jason coming running out of the woods after the junior rockers.

"See you soon." The call ended and Eliza watched as Jason and Marie continued to chase after the kids, causing lots of young screams to fill the air. She hadn't expected to see her sister and twin spending time together so soon but she was glad they were finally resolving everything, even if it took a group of small children to help them do so.

**AN: Yeah, I know, three chapters, one weekend. Madness. However, I need to get most of this story up by the end of this week (I'm heading on holiday on Friday so can't update after that) so I thought I'd treat you to the three chapters I had already typed up. A hints at later revelations in this chapter, what do you think all the secrets are? Next chapter is pyjama jam which causes a mass amount of drama between two characters. **


	11. Pyjama Drama

Chapter 11 – Pyjama Drama

"Are you not ready yet?" Caitlyn moaned, banging on the bathroom door to try and get Marie to hurry up.

"Just give me one more minute, if you're expecting me to wear pyjamas then I have to at least make the rest of my look decent." Marie called through the door. Caitlyn sighed. She didn't see what the big deal was; people had seen her in her pyjamas before on the tour bus.

"Chill Caitlyn." Melissa said as she checked her hair in the nearby mirror to make sure her newly added green stripe looking okay, "We've still got ages until it starts and anyway it's good to be fashionably late."

"We don't have to be, I'm ready now." Marie said, emerging from the bathroom. Her hair was lightly curled, falling in waves to her shoulders. She had applied bright purple eye shadow which matched her top, a casual t-shirt with the words 'I Do Not Hook Up' on it (she liked the irony of it.) Her eyes were outlined with thick black eyeliner and, along with the blusher and light pink lip gloss she had also applied, it made her look very different, a lot older too.

"I'm loving the look." Melissa complimented.

"It's different." Caitlyn commented, thinking she really didn't look like the girl she knew. "So can we actually go now?" She grabbed her stuff, the other two following suit and soon they were on their way.

The cabin hosting that night's jam was rather full when they arrive. Winding their way through the crowd they eventually found the others gathered together near the front.

"Where've you been? You missed the first performance." Nate said.

"_Someone_ took forever to get ready." Caitlyn replied as Nate placed a kiss on her forehead. She didn't mind missing the opening act knowing it was a young first year that had very little experience.

"I'm sorry Caity, okay?" Marie sighed; annoyed her friend kept going on. "Where are the kids?" She asked, turning to Jason.

"Backstage getting ready to perform. I'm nervous for them." He admitted. Marie placed her hand gently on his arm.

"They'll be okay, I'm sure of it." She said reassuringly. Mitchie and Caitlyn looked at each other, surprised to find their friends actually getting along. It certainly wasn't what they'd expected.

"Hey guys!" Peggy said, arriving at Jason's side. Marie practically leapt backwards.

"There's the Marie we know." Caitlyn whispered to Mitchie as they saw Marie put as much distance as she could between herself and Jeggy.

"Is Ella ready?" Mitchie asked, knowing Peggy had been backstage helping Ella prepare for her solo debut.

"Yeah, she's really nervous but I know she'll be fine."

Dee leapt on stage in her usual hyperactive manner.

"How good was that?" She called as a new camper left the stage having performed a dance number. "Next up we have a girl who's been a hit here at Camp Rock for many years. Give it up for Ella Pador." She walked on stage, her nerves evident on her face, her hands visibly shaking. As the lights dimmed to only a spotlight and the music started, a voice from the audience could be heard to say 'That's my girl!" The blush on Ella's face and the mini glare she threw Barron were both very clear.

_Darling look at me_

_I've fallen like a fool for you_

_Darling can't you see_

_I'd do anything you want me to_

_I tell myself_

_I'm in too deep_

_Then I fall a little farther_

_Every time you look at me_

Whilst Ella was captivating the attention of most of the audience in the room, one member of Connect 3 couldn't take his eyes off the girl stood beside him. He was stunned by how different Marie looked. As beautiful as he thought the change made her look, he wasn't sure he liked all the other guys at Camp Rock being able to see her the same way.

Peggy glanced at her boyfriend. She wished he could have been a bit more subtle. She knew how he felt, he'd made it pretty clear to her when they started dating, but she couldn't help how _she_ felt. It had been hard enough watching him run off with Marie earlier in the day, but to see him unable to take his eyes off her, whilst she was stood on the other side, it hurt.

As Ella's song drew to a close Barron leapt on the stage taking her in his arms. With the microphone still in her hand it was broadcast to the whole room when Barron whispered in her ear 'I love you', before dipping her towards the ground and attacking her lips with his own, resulting in 'awes' from the girls and cheers from the guys.

The show went on with artist after artist taking the stage, though most people seemed in agreement that Ella was the star of the night.

"So before the junior rockers take to the stage to close the show," Jason and Marie cheered in unison, "we have another new camper to perform for you. Please show your appreciation for Alexandra Blossom!" Dee said giddily. Marie groaned, having already had enough of the new bitch of camp. Alexandra tottered across the stage in her electric blue stilettos, her matching sequined strapless dress catching the light. Her little crew cheered as she reached centre stage.

"A song was written for tonight but sadly it's artist couldn't perform. I thought I'd help her out and perform it for her because it just _so_ good." Marie's eyes grew wide. As far as she was aware she was the only person banned from performing tonight. "Enjoy." Alexandra said with a smile as she slid her electric guitar into place.

"Ri?" Nate said, realising what this could mean.

"Wait." She put a hand up, indicating for him to be quiet. She wanted to be sure before she started to freak out.

_Take a deep breath _

_And you walk through the doors_

_It's the morning of your very first day_

_You say hi to your friends _

_You ain't seen in a while_

_Try and stay out of everybody's way_

_It's your freshman _

_And you're gonna be here_

_For the next four years in this town_

_Hoping one of those senior boys _

_Will wink at you and say_

_You know I haven't seen you around_

_Before_

"That's Marie's song." Peggy whispered to Jason as she recognised the chords she had helped her learn. He looked over at Marie who stood frozen to the spot, her eyes fixed on the strawberry blond. If looks could kill the singing on stage would instantly stop.

"Are you alright?" Jason asked Marie, wrapping an arm around her shoulder in an attempt to be comforting, but she shrugged it off whilst nodding. Her eyes never left the stage.

_Cos when you're_

_Fifteen and somebody tells you they love you_

_Your gonna believe them_

_When you're fifteen_

_Feeling like there's nothing to figure out_

_But count to ten_

_Take it in_

_This is life_

_Before you know who you're gonna be_

_At fifteen_

"How did she get hold of it?" Nate asked, angry on Marie's behalf.

"She watched you work on it." A small voice said behind them. They glanced round to see one of Alexandra's groupies stood there looking guilty. Marie didn't care that her song was being stolen; she cared about what the song meant.

_Sit in class next to a red head named Abigail_

_And soon enough you're best friends_

_Laughing at the other girls_

_Who think they're so cool_

_We'll be outta here as soon as we can_

_And then you're on your very first date_

_And he's got a car_

_And you feel like flying_

_And your momma's waiting up_

_And you're thinking he's the one_

_And you're dancing round the room when the night ends_

_When the night ends_

"She doesn't know. It's okay." Nate whispered, gently squeezing her hand. Marie knew exactly what was coming and as much as she wished Nate would be proven correct, she was almost certain he wouldn't. She'd gotten on Alexandra's bad side and now she was facing the wrath. If she'd heard the song, then Marie was pretty certain she'd heard the conversation she and Nate had held whilst writing it.

_Cos when you're_

_Fifteen and somebody tells you they love you_

_You're gonna believe them_

_When you're_

_Fifteen _

_And you're first kiss makes your head turn round_

_But in your life you'll do things greater than_

_Dating the boy on the football team_

_I didn't know it at fifteen_

"Are you okay sis?" Eliza asked worriedly, noticing how upset Marie looked. She couldn't understand why the girl on stage would do such a thing. Marie didn't respond, she just stood there, her eyes fixed in an intense glare, her teeth leaving marks on her bottom lip as she bit it nervously.

_When all you wanted_

_Was to be wanted_

_Wish you could go back_

_And tell yourself what you know now_

_Back then I swore I was going to marry him someday_

_But I realised some bigger dreams of mine_

_And Marie gave everything she had_

_To a boy _

_Who changed his mind_

_And she cried_

_Cos she was sixteen_

_And somebody told her they love her_

_And she believed him_

_Yes she was sixteen _

_And she forgot to look before she fell_

Tears dripped down Marie's cheeks as she watched her friends' reactions. The shock, the sympathy, but most importantly, the anger which had filled her sister's eyes. This wasn't how Eliza was supposed to find out.

"Marie?" Eliza said. The annoyance was clear in her voice. Marie looked up, she could hear people muttering all around her. She glanced at her sister before taking a deep breath. She ran. She pushed through the crowd, ignoring the others as they tried to all her back. She had to get away. As she reached the door she heard the final line of the song she now heavily regretted writing.

_Take a deep breath girl_

_Take a deep breath_

_As you walk through the doors._

She broke out into a run again, not stopping until she was far away.

_CR-CR-CR_

She sat on the dock, staring into the dark water as her tears continued to silently fall. She was scared, she'd never seen her sister react that way to anything.

"Marie." She refused to turn around; she didn't want to get into an argument yet. "Stop ignoring me." Eliza said, joining her sister at the edge of the docks. "Do you know how embarrassing that was for me? Having to walk out of there with all those people knowing you were my sister?" Fury grew within Marie and for a brief moment she was strongly tempted to push Eliza into the lake.

"How embarrassing it was for you?" Marie scoffed, "Oh of course, because everything is about _Eliza_ Austen, obviously."

"I have a reputation Marie and how _you_ act has an impact on that!" Eliza yelled. She couldn't believe her sister could do such a thing.

"You haven't even asked me if it's true yet!" Marie yelled spinning to face her sister. "You just assumed that because some stupid cow sang it, it must be true."

"Okay Marie, then tell me, did you sleep with someone?" Eliza asked bluntly. There was a brief silence before Marie answered.

"Yes." It was a single word, but it was full of impact.

"How could you be so stupid?" Eliza asked. This was not what she expected from her baby sister, she was more sensible, more responsible than that. Eliza was more disappointed than anything else.

Marie just stared at the ground, ashamed. She hadn't expected Eliza's reaction to be good, but she didn't think it would be this bad.

"Who was he?" The older Austen asked, wanting to know all the facts.

"You don't know him." Marie muttered.

"I know all your ex-boyfriends Marie, just tell me." Eliza wasn't just going to let this drop. She wanted to know who to get her brothers to beat up.

"I didn't say he was an ex-boyfriend." Marie admitted as her eyes stared out at the moonlight shimmering on the lake.

"So you just slept with some random guy? How could you do something so idiotic?" Eliza asked, the disdain clear in her voice. "When did it happen?" Marie didn't respond. "Marie, tell me." Eliza sounded more like her mother than her sister.

"I don't want to talk about it." Marie said through gritted teeth as she tried to hold back her anger and sadness.

"You don't have a choice Marie, now tell me." Eliza was determined.

Marie spun on her heel, moving so she was inches from her sister. She may have been shorter than Eliza but that didn't make her any less intimidating.

"It happened two months ago. I was drunk, so was Brian. He's a year older than me. We made out and then things went further and it just happened. There, are you happy now?" Marie spat out angrily.

"You're a disgrace Marie. You should be ashamed of yourself. You're sixteen. I honestly cannot believe you sank that low." Eliza said with venom. Marie just stood there taking it all in, not reacting. "You realise doing that makes you as bad as Tess." Eliza spat nastily.

The next few seconds passed in a blur, it happened so fast Marie didn't realise what she was doing until it was too late. She pulled her hand back and with her full force she slapped her sister across the cheek in a pure fit of rage.

"Stay away from me." Marie hissed. "I'm glad you're not my sister." She stormed away, her hands shaking as adrenaline rushed through her body, her brain filled with too many emotions. Eliza just watched her go, realising she no longer knew the girl walking away from her.

_CR-CR-CR _

Jason watched as Eliza left the room chasing after her sister. He'd seen the look of fury on her face and his instant reaction was one of worry for Marie.

"Is that true?" Caitlyn asked, the meaning behind the lyrics fully sinking in. Nate nodded. "And you knew?" Another nod. "I'm going to kill Alexandra." She made to move towards the stage but Nate grabbed her by the arm, pulling her back.

"Leave it, this isn't you're fight. There's already going to be plenty of drama tonight without you adding to it." Nate didn't know exactly what was going to occur between the Austen sisters but from everything Marie had told him over the last few weeks he was fairly sure it wouldn't end well.

"I can't believe it." Shane muttered. It was not something he would have expected from innocent little Marie.

"Me neither." Mitchie said. It was the first time she and Shane had agreed on anything in months.

"Thank you Alexandra." Dee said, taking to the stage. She had seen the two Austen's walk out and could tell something was wrong, yet she kept on smiling to keep things calm. "Well now it's time for the final performance of this year's Pyjama Jam. Please give it up for our junior rockers!"

The group of ten year olds took to the stage all dressed in similar styles to Connect 3's usual stage costumes (Nate and Shane had helped with the wardrobe choices.)

"We want to dedicate this to Jason." A mousy brown haired girl said into the microphone, "He's the best instructor ever!" All around him people awed, but Jason barely noticed, his attention fully focused on the girl who meant everything to him.

"I'll be right back." Jason said to Peggy as the junior rockers started their rendition of 'SOS', the Connect 3 classic.

"But the kids..." Peggy tried to reason with him.

"Will be fine, they know what they're doing." Jason said.

"Just wait five minutes."

"I have to know she's alright. I'm sorry." He placed a gentle kiss on her head before slipping out of the room.

She watched him go with mixed emotions. Though she was glad he was looking out for his friend she was more than a little annoyed that no matter what, Marie came first. She turned back to the stage and from the looks on their faces it was clear a few of the young children had noticed the guy they were trying to impress didn't bother to stay and watch.

**AN: I hope you guys liked this chapter, bit more drama for you! There may be one more update before I go on holiday on Friday, but if not I will return on the 20****th**** with as many updates as I can! **


	12. Tears Run

Chapter 12 – Tears Run 

"I'm glad you're not my sister." Jason heard Marie yell as he neared the lake, realising instantly things weren't going well. He saw her storm away and decided to chase her, knowing she needed someone right now.

"Marie." He called a few minutes later as he caught up with her. She spun around to look at him and in the moonlight he could see the tears pouring down her cheeks. He grabbed her hand. "Come on." He said, hoping he sounded comforting rather than angry. He led her across the camp, back towards the woods as he had done earlier that day. As they reached the edge of the trees he pulled out his phone and activated the torch device he had on it, guiding them back to the spot they had visited hours before, a place which was rapidly becoming their private hide out.

He sat on the trunk bench and she took a seat beside him, leaning her head against his shoulder as he slid his arm around her, pulling her close. They sat there, only the sound of Marie's occasional sobs filling the air. Gradually she calmed down and the sobs faded as the tears eventually stopped flowing. They remain in silence, Jason thinking it best to give her some time to sort things out in her own head.

"Are you angry with me?" Marie whispered. She expected them all to be. Even Nate hadn't been too pleased when she'd told him the truth. Jason considered his answer carefully before speaking.

"No." He said truthfully. "We all make mistakes." Marie moved closer to him, feeling safe in his arms. She had missed his comfort.

"I slapped her." Marie stated.

"She'll understand eventually." Jason reasoned.

"No, I don't think she will. She doesn't anymore." Marie said. Things had changed a lot between her and Eliza and in many ways that change was irreversible.

"Everything will be okay." Jason said, slipping a finger under her chin so she had to look at him. Even with mascara covering her face and the rest of her make-up a smudged mess, Jason still thought she looked beautiful. "Trust me." He whispered and for the first time in four months Marie didn't flinch at the phrase. She did trust him, despite everything, it just seemed natural. They fell back into a comfortable silence as Jason listened to the sounds of the night time wild life and Marie's thoughts drifted back to the night of the incident that had caused so much controversy.

"I was stupid." She muttered. Jason looked at her but didn't say a thing, sensing she needed to vent. "I allowed people I barely knew to get me drunk and then I allowed him to make me do something I wasn't comfortable with." Jason held her closer, knowing she needed support. "I was so lonely Jase. Everyone left, you, Eliza, all my school friends, they just turned their backs and left. I made a mistake because I was desperate to feel like someone cared and if I could take it back then I would. But I can't. It happened. I have to work past it. But that doesn't mean I don't regret it because I do, every single day." She sighed, burying her face against his chest as a few more tears escaped from her eyes.

"Did you like him?" Jason asked. He didn't want to push her too far, so he was cautious with his questions. He felt Marie shake her head against his chest and couldn't help the relief that flooded him.

"I barely knew him." She mumbled into his shirt. "And anyway," She said, making a big decision. She looked up at him, staring directly into his eyes. "I was still in love with you." She didn't know what made her say it, it just felt right.

"You _were_? Past tense?" Jason needed to know if she felt anything for him.

"You have Peggy, who is probably worrying like hell about you. We should head back." She stood up and turned to go, but was stopped by Jason pulling on her hand.

"Marie, I have to know. Do you still care about me?" He looked up at her, his eyes begging for the truth. She sighed.

"I never stopped Jay." She walked away, not wanting to see his reaction.

Jason watched her go, knowing he had a choice to make.

_CR-CR-CR_

"What was your favourite performance of the night?" Caitlyn asked. She was sat in her cabin alongside Melissa, Mitchie, Nate and, surprisingly, Shane – who had decided he didn't want to spend the rest of the evening alone.

"Might be a bit biased but I'm going to say Ella, her voice sounded amazing." Mitchie said.

"Her song was really good too." Shane complimented, though Mitchie wasn't sure he knew she'd helped write it.

"See I should be saying Ella because she'd the front person of our band," Melissa chimed in, growing used to having a mass of pop stars in her room, "but I think I'm going to go with that kid, what was his name, the one who did the Andy Green cover."

"Graham." Nate said. He had been quite surprised to find someone covering one of his alter ego songs, possibly doing it better than Andy Green himself.

"Well it's easy to be good when you're covering an already good song." Shane stated.

"You know, I would never have expected you to be an Andy Green fan." Melissa said.

"Not a fan per say." Shane replied, "I think they guy's got talent, but his attitude sucks."

"What do you mean?" Caitlyn asked, very aware of her boyfriend's arms tensing slightly around her waist.

"The whole secret thing. If you want to be in this industry you've got to expect that the world is going to want to know everything about you, as well as fans wanting a face to put to the music. The fact that he's hiding who he is, in my opinion, is completely pathetic." Shane ranted.

"Bit harsh." Mitchie muttered, resulting in Shane rolling his eyes. Just when the others thought their friends might be getting along again, they had to be proved wrong.

"Maybe he has a good reason for it? Maybe he thinks people will judge him unfairly if they find out who he is." Nate said, airing the truth, though only one other person knew it. Andy Green had a lot of fans who would never listen to Connect 3 songs. If they found out it was really Nate, the pop star's popularity would probably drop faster than a lead balloon.

"Personally I don't care about seeing his face. It's quite nice to not have one to put to the music as you can have your own interpretation of what he looks like. I just wish we knew more about him as a person." Melissa said. Of everyone in the room, she was definitely the biggest Andy Green fan.

"Like what?" Caitlyn asked, intrigued.

"Stupid stuff. Like does he have facial hair? What phase of the moon does he like best, does he prefer dogs or cats? What's his dream car? You know, dumb stuff that doesn't matter but makes him seem like a normal person. Knowing that stuff makes us fans feel closer to you celebrity types." Melissa explained, surprising the others.

"I know what you mean. I don't care about what colour hair he has, but knowing if he's a funny guy or uber serious, though not that important, is interesting." Mitchie added.

"And of course every female fan is on a constant mission to find out if he's single or not." Caitlyn added, intertwining her fingers with Nate's. She'd read many articles full of rumours about Andy Green's relationship status.

"Says the only girl in the room with a boyfriend." Melissa joked.

"Doesn't mean I'm not curious." Caitlyn replied.

"Thanks love." Nate said, mock offended, even though he knew she was saying it to make it clear to him she wanted to public to know Andy Green was off the market.

"I doubt the guy will ever come clean about himself." Shane said, "He's got enough fans without people knowing his real identity so why should he reveal it?"

"I'm not so sure. I think he'll introduce himself sooner than you think." Nate replied, instantly making a decision.

"You really think so?" Caitlyn asked, surprised. After months of her and Eliza trying to persuade him to tell the others the truth, all it took was a simple conversation about what fans look for information wise to make him change his mind.

"Yeah, definitely." Nate said. The conversation lulled after that, the group sitting in a comfortable silence, their thoughts their own.

"I wonder what happened between Marie and Eliza." Mitchie said after a few minutes. She'd never seen her friends look so upset or so angry before and it worried her, especially when she was aware they had been growing apart for a while.

"Whatever it was, I doubt it was good." Shane said. He was well aware of how his sister felt about people sleeping around and of how protective she was about her little sister, even if it didn't always show. "I can't believe that girl did that to Marie. I hope Brown punishes her for it."

"I wish we'd worked on it somewhere more private. I feel kinda guilty." Nate admitted. He was the one who suggested they work on it on the dock after all.

"So did you know about that before tonight?" Mitchie asked. It hadn't really clicked with her until then that he had been helping Marie with the song all week and so probably knew what it was about.

"She told me just after it happened. She was so upset about it, I felt really helpless. I promised to keep it a secret but that didn't stop me trying to persuade her to tell Eliza. She was really scared to and I guess now I see why." It had surprised Nate just how angry his sister seemed at the revelation. He thought she was more understanding than that. He remembered the night he got the call from Marie. She wouldn't stop crying and calling herself offensive names, clearly angry with her own actions. What had surprised Nate the most though was how many times she mentioned Jason's reaction, how it seemed he was the one whose opinion she cared about most. He didn't know why he'd ever believed Caitlyn when she'd told him about Marie and Finn, all the signs clearly showed where her true romantic interest lay.

"Then why did she write it so clearly in a song?" Shane asked.

"She didn't. The real lyrics had it as if she was singing about a friend. She hoped she could see Eliza's reaction to her having a friend who gave everything away and then decide whether to tell the truth or not. Alexandra changed the words." Nate explained, surprised his brother hadn't already figured this out.

"You know, I've never wanted someone to get kicked out of camp so much, not even when Tess was around." Shane said. He had become quite protective of Marie, seeing her as another sister, despite seeing very little of her recently. She was part of their group and no one messed with their group.

Melissa sat there awkwardly, listening to them talk about Alexandra. She agreed with everything they said, she deserved to be punished and she acted atrociously. But Melissa knew Alexandra more than they did, so it made it harder for her to be horrible about her.

The door flung open, silencing the conversation. Marie rushed across the room and into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Though her appearance had been brief, they hadn't missed the tears running down her cheeks, mixing with the already ruined mascara.

"I think we should leave." Shane said knowing Marie would need to girls tonight. Nate nodded in agreement. If Marie needed him, she knew to just call. They said a quick goodnight and slipped away.

"Maybe I should go check on Eliza." Mitchie said, well aware the older Austen was likely to be just as upset. "Make sure Marie knows I'm here for her if she needs me." She instructed Caitlyn before following in the guys' footsteps.

"What do we do?" Melissa whispered. She had no experience with situations like this.

Caitlyn walked slowly over to the bathroom door and knocked.

"Ri, it's Caitlyn. Can you come out here? It's just me and Melissa now, no one else." She called calmly to her friend.

"I didn't mean to make them leave." Marie said sadly, whilst the bathroom door remained firmly shut.

"It's fine. It was time for them to go anyway, but they want you to know that if you need them, they're there for you. None of us care about what happened, you're our friend, that's what matters." Caitlyn said, hoping to persuade her friend to come back out. "Can you come out here please?" There was silence and then Caitlyn heard the lock turn, the door opening slowly to reveal a now make-up less, though still teary eyes, Marie. Without saying a thing Caitlyn wrapped her arms around her best friend and led her to her bed. They lay down beside each other, Caitlyn never letting go, knowing Marie needed comfort. That was how they slept that night and how they awoke in the morning.

**AN: I'm back from my holiday! I know this was a bit depressing, I think things cheer up in the next chapter. A lot of you have commented on how this is quite different to Who I Am, I wanted them all to grow up a bit I guess. Please give it a chance and if you really don't like how it's different leave a review and let me know how I can change it to improve. **


	13. Forgive and Forget

Chapter 13 – Forgive And Forget

The second week of Camp Rock did not get off to a good start, with both campers and instructors ignoring each other. There were plenty of moments of awkwardness, leading to the once tight group spending very little time together.

Marie hadn't spoken to Eliza since the night of pyjama jam, still furious about how her sister reacted. On Monday she'd avoided her song writing class all together, feigning illness. It had taken a lot of persuasion on Caitlyn's part to get her to attend the group session and even then the two Austen's stayed far away from each other.

As Tuesday arrived, so did Marie's second song-writing class of the week.

"You're going to have to talk to her sometime." Caitlyn reasoned as she tried to get Marie to go to the lesson.

"Why does that time have to be today?" Marie grumbled.

"Because you can't let an argument with Eliza stop you learning really important things which could help your future career. Do you know how many people would kill to be here this summer? You can't just through this opportunity away Ri. So she's your sister, so you had a fight, so what! In the grand scheme of things this less may not matter, but maybe it'll be the lesson in which you start writing the song which launches you to success. You'll never know unless you go." Caitlyn said more than she had intended. She was bored of everyone falling apart. It was even taking it's toll on her and Nate's relationship, the two of them unable to have a meal together without the risk of offending someone.

After getting no response from Marie, Caitlyn sighed, grabbed her stuff and headed to the door. "Well, I'm leaving because I actually want to be here. If you find some interest in that thick skull of yours, I'll be in class." She opened the door but paused when she heard movement behind her. A satisfied gri appeared on her face when Marie joined her.

"Let's get this over with." She sighed, shutting the door behind them and making her way down the path.

"It'll be fine. You know Liza won't say anything in front of the class." Caitlyn said, trying to be reassuring.

"Doesn't mean I won't." Marie muttered.

_CR-CR-CR_

"I've gone through the songs you submitted on Friday, the ones on 'dreams." Eliza stood in front of the class, showing her natural confidence. "You've all improved, even in only a week." She handed the notepads back, "I've written comments which I hope you will read and which I think will really help you improve. I feel a lot of you didn't write about your truthful feelings, only what you think they should be. You're never going to write a truely great song until you put your own, real, emotions into it."Her eyes glaned to Marie and she say the look her sister was giving her. Sure, she sounded hypocritical after everything she said after the jam as a result of Marie putting herself into a song. The fact of the matter was; Marie's song was good, but that didn't make Eliza like the subject matter anymore.

"I've also noticed a lot of you make an effort to make sure lyrics rhyme, often at the expense of them making sense. You don't have to make everything rhyme." Marie looked around the room at al the other students with their focus fully engaged on her sister, taking in everything she said as if it was the law. It surprised her just how much trust they put in Eliza.

The lesson continued on, with Eliza setting them another writing task, this time focusing on choruses.

"I hope to see some of you performing at tomorrow's Camp Fire Jam. Remember, practise is ey." Eliza said as she wrpped up for the day. Marie was rapidly packing her stuff away, hoping to escape.

"Marie." She sighed, knowing her plan had failed. "Can I talk to you after class please." She had no excuse, not where to be and she knew Eliza knew it.

"I'll see you at lunch?" Caitlyn asked, receiving a nod in reply. "You'll be fine. Give her a chance." Marie sighed, knowing she had no choice. Thing was, she was sick of always having to give people a chance, especially when she seem to rarely be given one in return.

The class slowly filed out, leaving the two Austens stood alone in an awkward silence. Marie sat in the chair she had occupied all lesson, her gaze firmly focussed on the floor in front of her, whilst Eliza stood at her small desk, looking through some notes as she tried to work up to courage to start the conversation.

"I need to talk to you about your song." Eliza stated. Though Marie was well aware that wasn't her reason for keeping her back, she plated along.

"Which one?" She asked, wanting to clarify whether this was about Pyjama jam or not.

"The one you wrote for class." Eliza replied, picking up Marie's notebook and taking a seat beside her. "It's really good."

"No it's not, otherwise you wouldn't have kept me back." Marie retorted.

"If you let me finish." Eliza said, frustration clear in her tone, "It's really good but it's ot very _you_." Though discussing the song was only an excuse to make Marie talk to her, the notes she was giving were true.

"It's not all meant to be _me_." Marie explained. "It's a duet, two girls singing about their life. Only hald of it would be me." It was true. "And anyway, you don't like it when I write about things which are truthful to me." She continued bitterly.

"Marie don't be like that." Eliza snapped, "I'm just trying to help you." Marie scoffed.

"Help me?" She said in disbelief. "Telling me I'm a disgrace and that I'm as bad as the girl who stole your boyufriend, yeah that's really helping me!" She'd been so hurt byb Eliza's words. The sting of them hadn't faded.

"I didn't mean that." Eliza said, "I was shocked by what you told me and the words slipped out. I'm sorry I hurt you." Looking at her sister she felt so guilty.

"It doesn't change the fact you said it." Marie replied.

"No, I know it doesn't but Ri, people make mistakes and say things they don't really mean."

"Yeah, people do make mistakes." Marie responded, "That's what that night was Liza, a huge mistake, yet you couldn't just accept that." She stood up, heading for the door, not wanting to get inot yet another argument.

"I'm sorry Ri. I'm sorry for what I said, I'm sorry for how I acted. You're seventeen, you can make your own choices, I get that. I just never would have expected it from you. You're my baby sister, I just wish I'd been there to protect you." That's why Eliza had reacted so badly, not because of what Marie had done, but because she hadn't been there to stop it or take care of her afterwards.

"I don't need you to protect me. I'm not a baby any more. I'm not even your sister." Marie said, keeping her back to Eliza.

"Please stop saying that." The sadness was clear in Eliza's voice and her reaction surprised Marie so much she tured around, noticing Eliza was fighting back tears. She was torn between the anger she still felt and the worry that was quickly rising.

"What?" Marie asked as she moved back towards Eliza, not knowing what she'd done to upset her so much.

"Saying you're not my sister! Sure, I'm related to the guys, but I'm still an Austen and I'm still your sister, I always have been and I always will be, no matter what my birth certificate or the press says." Eliza had spent the weekend looking into what had been published abut her and Marie's relationship, surprised by how many times it was mentioned that she was Marie's _adopted_ sister. "So please, stop saying that I'm not."

Marie was shocked. She'd gotten into the habit of stating that Eliza wasn't her sister as a defence mechanism after everything that happened in school, but she never expected it to effect Eliza so much.

They sat together, neither sure what to say next. A slight tension built, both girls knowing they had to say something ,but not sure where to start.

"I wrote the song as if it was from Caitlyn's and your perspective." Marie admitted, hoping a change of topic back to something related to class would resolve things.

"How do you mean?" Eliza asked. Marie flipped to the lyrics in her notepad and pointed to two lines in the chorus.

"_I've got somewhere I belong,_" She sang quietly, finding it hard to speak the lyrics when she knew the tune they'd fit. "That's you, you've got the career you dreamed of and you've found your real family, the people you belong with." Marie explained. "_I've got somebody to love._" She sang again. "That's Caitlyn. Her and Nate are _so_ in love, being with him is her dream come true." Eliza was impressed by her sister's reasoning behind her lyrics. "Your lives are both what dreams are made of. I don't have any dreams right now so I couldn't write it and add any truth about me."

"I don't that's true." Eliza replied, taking the notepad from Marie and pointing to the first verse. " 'When I see you smiling I go oh, oh, oh.' That's you." Eliza said. She'd seen her sister's reaction to Jason's smile. "'Have you ever wondered what life is about. You could search the world and never figure it out.' If I'm not mistaken that bears a slight resemblance in meaning to a certain Connect 3 song which I know means a lot to you." Marie was surprised when Eliza pointed this out, she hadn't realised the similarity until then.

"Okay, so maybe it's a little about me." She admitted.

"Three people in one song. I'm impressed." Eliza said with a small smile, which Marie returned. The two girl sat there for a while before Eliza opened her arms. "Hug?" This was how they often made up. Things got to the point where they were back on speaking terms, they shared a hug and then things returned to normal.

Marie wrapped her arms around her sister, holiding her tightly.

"I'm sorry sis." She muttered.

"I'm sorry too." Eliza replied. They pulled back, the atmosphere in the room uch calmer. "I know people make mistakes and I'm really sorry I wasn't there for you . I promise you, now I', back, I'l lspend a lot more time with you and if you ever need someone to talk to, I'll be with you in seconds, no matter what." Eliza wanted to make up for how much she'd screwed up over the last four months.

"That miht not be as easy as you think." Marie said with a sigh, earning a confused look from Eliza. "Mom and dad decided they don't want to live in LA any more, and with you having your own place and use having the other house in Phileadelphia they want to move back to where we grew up." She knew her mom had wanted to keep it quiet for a while longer, but she couldn't continue to keep it a secret from her sister.

"When?" Eliza asked as what her sister had just said sunk in.

"A week or so after camp ends. By the time we get back everything will more or less be packed up."

"They can't do that." Eliza didn't want her family to move away.

"They're the parents, turns out they can." Marie had gotten used to the idea over time. The only people she'd miss were those here with her this summer and they wouldn't be around all the time anyway.

"What about your senior year and all your friends and everything?"

"Trust me, that's not a big deal." She wasn't ready to tell Eliza everything about the past four months yet.

"You can't go to Philly, there's got to be something we can do to stop this." The door opened, interrupting them.

"I'm not interrupting am ?" Nate asked, looking between the two girls.

"No, it's fine. I have to go anyway, go some work to do. We'll talk later, okay sis?" Marie said before leaving the cabin.

"Everything's okay between you now?" Nate asked, taking Marie's vacated seat.

"I think so." Eliza said, relieved she and Marie had talked things through. "What's up with you?" Nate looked at her with a nervous smile.

"I wanted to talk to you about something." He explained.

"Shoot." Eliza replied.

"It's about Andy Green."

_CR-CR-CR_

Marie wandered through the woods, heading for her favourite spot. Ever since she'd discovered it with Jason she'd ventured up there once every day in an attempt to get some privacy.

She sat on the log as her thoughts drifted back to her conversation with Jason last Friday. She hadn't spoken to him since declaring she still had feeling for him, deciding it was too awkward. He had a girlfriend and they were happy. She didn't want to get in the way of that.

She sighed, pulling out her purple notebook which contained the lyrics for her Final Jam song. She and Peggy had started working on it that morning, discussing what Marie wanted it to be about. Though Peggy's main focus in helping her would be writing the guitar music, she'd agreed to give advice on the rest of the song if she could.

Out of all her lessons, guitar had turned out to be her favourite, despite being taught by the person she knew the least. She found herself learning more in that class than any other.

She chewed on the end of her pen, trying to think of some lyrics for the chorus, which Peggy had told her to focus on. Get the chorus right and the rest of the song will fall into place. But she was struggling, finding the only words she could come up with sounded cliché and cheesey.

"Ugh, damn nettles." Marie jumped at the sound of another voice, spinning round to face the direction it had come from. "Sorry, I didn't realise anyone else would be here." Jason was stood in amongst the trees, leaves stuck in his hair, small scratches covering his arms, which his leg was planted in a patch of stinging nettles.

"What on earth happened to you?" Her shock at his appearance made her forget all about the awkwardness. She helped him move into the clearing, seating him on the log.

"I was trying to find this place to hang out at during my free period." He explained, "I got a bit lost, then there was this really pretty bluebird which I chased for a bit. It let me here but nature attacked me a bit on the way." Marie chuckled at his choice of words. "My leg _really_ itches." He complained, rolling up his trouser leg to reveal a bright red patch of skin where the nettles had attacked him.

"That doesn't look good." Marie said, inspecting it. "Wait here." She disappeared into the woods, returning moments later with a hand full of large dark green leaves. She went to place them on his leg when his hand shot out, stopping her.

"What are you doing?" He asked, a look of fear in his eyes.

"It's a dock leaf." Marie stated, "One of the best cures for nettle sting. You hold it against the red area and it eases the itchiness. It'll make it better." She slipped his hand into hers for comfort as she dabbed the leaf against his leg.

"How did you know that?" Jason asked as her herbal cure worked it's magic.

"My mom told me when I was little. We were walking in a woods and I fell and landed in a pile of nettles. I was in loads of pain and these leaves were the only thing that made it better." Marie moved so she was sitting beside him, handing over the rest of the leaves and instructing him to continue to hold them against his leg as she turned her attention back to her notebook.

"What you working on?" He asked, attempting to lean over and read her words, but she closed the book to prevent him from seeing.

"My song for Final Jam. I want it to be a surprise so no, you can't see it until the night." Marie replied, knowing waht he was going to ask.

"Fine." He sighed overdramatically. "Are you performing at Camp Fire Jam tomorrow?"

"Nope. I haven't had time to rehearse anything so I'll wait until Beach Jam." She explained.

"Can I ask you a favour then?" Jason asked, hoping he wasn't pushing his luck. Marie nodded. "Brown wants me to get the kids to perform to open the show and I had this idea but I could do with some help to achieve it."

"Jase, I don't know." Though they were having a perfectly pleasant chat, she dind't know i she'd be okay spending lots of time with him. She didn't want to let herself fall back into how she felt a few months ago.

"I know it's last minute and I wouldn't aske if I didn't think you were the perfect person for the job." Jason practically begged. "Plus you did promise you'd help me the other day." He resorted to using puppy dog eyes.

"Oh that's mean, you know I can't resist the puppy dog eyes! Okay," she sighed, giving in, "what do you want me to do?" Jason cheered at his success before explainging his plan for the performance. Marie had to admit, she was impressed by his idea and by lunch time she was adding suggestions of her own.


	14. Camp Fire Jam

Chapter 14 – Camp Fire Jam

"Mr Jason? Mr Jason where's Ms Marie?" A little blonde girl with pigtails tugged on the back of his shirt, trying to get his attention. Jason turned and bent down so he was at the same level as her.

"She'll be here in a second. What's wrong Annabelle? Anything I can help with?" Annabelle Stone was definitely one of his favourite junior rockers. She was fascinated by everything musical, with an incredible singing voice at only ten years old. Out of all the children, she was the one he thought was most likely to make it in the industry.

"She said she'd help me with my vocal warm ups." The little girl explained.

"Well I can do that." Jason replied, trying to be helpful.

"No you can't, you're a boy." Annabelle stated matter of factly. "Plus Ms Marie has a better voice than you." Jason reacted with mock offence at the comment, though he had to agree.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, I was only going to nip back to my cabin but then I got talking to Melissa and then I had this idea for my song and I totally lost track of time." Marie babbled as she appeared backstage.

"Ri, chill." Jason said, putting his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to calm her down. "There's still ten minutes to go until they go on stage, plenty of time." Marie took a deep breath before allowing Annabelle to drag her away to warm up, whilst Jason ensured everyone else was prepared.

"Okay guys and girls, it's time to kick off this Camp Fire Jam. Who's excited?" He heard Dee say from the stage, followed by a loud cheer. He gathered his junior rockers together.

"You're going to go out there, rock your socks off and make me and Ms Marie very proud!" Jason said before instructing them to line up as they had practised over the last twenty-four hours. As they watched their young protégés file onto stage, Jason and Marie stood beside each other, nerves rushing through their veins.

"I know it sounds dumb but I'm more nervous than I was when I performed at Opening Jam." Marie whispered to him as they heard Dee introduce the opening act.

"You don't have any control over this, which you do when it's you performing. That's why it's scarier." Marie nodded, he made a lot of sense.

As she stood at the side of the stage watching the ten year olds perform, she felt like a proud mother. She glanced out at the crowd, smiling wider as she saw them all enjoying it.

_Hey now_

_Hey now_

_This is what dreams are made of_

_Hey now_

_Hey now_

_This is what dreams are made of_

_I've got somewhere I belong_

_I've got somebody to love_

_This is what dreams are made of._

As the song's tempo increased Annabelle ran to the side of the stage where her mentors were.

"Annabelle, what are you doing?" Marie asked, worried something was wrong.

"It's your song, you can't hide backstage all the time." The little girl said, dragging Marie on stage. When Jason had told her he didn't know which song to use, the song Marie had been discussing with her sister sprung to mind and, with some production help from Caitlyn, they'd created music for the song overnight.

_Have you ever wondered what life is about_

_You could search the world and_

_Never figure it out_

_You don't have to sail the oceans_

_No no no_

Marie sung along as she danced the routine she and Jason had created. She saw Freddie walk off stage, knowing Jason was about to get the same treatment she had.

"She's really pretty." Freddie said as he noticed his mentor's eyes fixed on Ms Marie. He was quite mature for a ten year old.

"Indeed she is Fredster." Jason ruffled the young boy's hair before following him on stage.

_Happiness is no mystery as_

_Here and now_

_It's you and me_

Taking a position beside Marie he joined in the dancing, though he wasn't as natural at it as she was. As the kids paired up, facing each other, Jason and Marie found themselves together. As the music drew to an end they stood staring at each other, their eyes locked together, their bodies closer than they had meant to be. As Jason stared into Marie's eyes, he knew his mind was made up.

_CR-CR-CR_

Mitchie took to the stage to close the jam. It had taken a lot of persuasion on Brown's part to get her to return to the stage on which she made her Camp Rock debut, but she was there, this time wearing an outfit much more suited to her style. Her summery dress, matched with a denim jacket, suited her to a tee.

The decision about which song to perform had taken her a while. Most of the campers knew her for her upbeat, rockier songs, but she'd wanted to show off her quieter side. She was the vocal teacher after all; she needed to show off her vocal talent. Problem was, the main song she had which did this was the last song she wrote before she and Shane broke up and it was about how she felt about him. She'd never allowed anyone to hear it before. The choice had been made when Nate told them at dinner that Shane wouldn't be attending the jam as he claimed he'd had too much of nature.

She took a seat on the high stool which had been brought on stage, adjusting the microphones so both her acoustic guitar and voice would be picked up.

"This is a song I wrote a while ago. It's a bit different to my usual stuff but I hope you still like it." She said before plucking the opening chords. She didn't know why but playing an acoustic song always seemed more natural to her.

_Before I fall_

_Too fast_

_Kiss me quick_

_But make it last_

_So I can see_

_How badly this will hurt me_

_When you say goodbye_

With all the arguments they'd had in the weeks before they ended things, Mitchie had sensed a break up was on the way, no matter how much she fought to keep it from happening. Despite that, it still hurt when he finally said it was over.

_Keep it sweet_

_Keep it slow_

_Let the future pass_

_And don't let go_

_But tonight I could fall too soon_

_Under this beautiful moonlight._

She thought of all the times they'd ventured out onto the lake with only the moonlight to guide them. She remembered the last time they'd been truly happy; Shane had hired them a private midnight boat ride down the River Seine on their only free night in Paris. They'd eaten and danced as the moon shone down on them. That night Shane told her he wanted to marry her and be with her forever. She'd never felt happier in her life. How things had gone so drastically wrong after that she still didn't know.

_But you're so hypnotising_

_You've got me laughing while I sing_

_You've got me smiling in my sleep_

_And I can see this unravelling_

_Your love is where I'm falling_

_But please don't catch me_

_You see this heart_

_Won't settle down_

_Like a child running scared from a clown_

_I'm terrified of what you do_

_My stomach screams just when I look at you_

_Run far away_

_So I can breathe_

_Even though you're far from suffocating me._

Every time she saw him with someone else, it felt like she couldn't breathe. The label had set them both up with various people over the remainder of the tour, sparking masses of romance rumours. And whilst Mitchie knew she felt nothing for anyone other than Shane, no matter how much those feelings hurt, she didn't think he felt the same. She'd seen the photos in the magazines, noticed the minor female celebrities hanging around backstage after shows. He was the one who ended it after all, why wouldn't he move on?

_I can't set my hope too high cos_

_Every hello ends with a goodbye_

_But you're so hypnotising_

_You've got me laughing while I sing_

_You've got me smiling in my sleep_

_And I can see this unravelling_

_Your love is where I'm falling_

_But please don't catch me_

_So now you see_

_Why I'm scared_

_I can't open up my heart without a care_

_So here I go_

_It's what I feel_

_And for the first time in my life_

_I know it's real._

Shane walked into the clearing where the jam was being held. Nate had text him saying the performances that night were the best he'd ever seen and Shane couldn't resist going and scoping out the talent. He remained at the back, out of sight, watching as the girl he'd broken his heart over stood on stage showing why she'd become so successful. He thought of their final days as a couple, the mistakes they'd made, the fights they'd have over minor details. He'd wanted to marry her, but now that would never happen. He'd lost her for good. He'd seen the pictures in the magazines, noticed all the guys who deserved her more than him hanging around. Maybe, he thought, it was time to stop chasing an impossible dream.

_But you're so hypnotising_

_You've got me laughing while I sing_

_You've got me smiling in my sleep_

_And I can see this unravelling_

_Your love is where I'm falling_

_But please don't catch me_

_If this is love_

_Please don't break me_

_I'm giving up_

_So just catch me._

Shane slipped away as the song ended, missing the look of deep sadness in her eyes. She missed him every day but she knew she had no hope of him ever catching her again. She thanked the crowd before walking off stage, wiping the tears from her eyes when she was safely out of the crowd's view.

"Mitch?" She spun round to find Marie looking at her with concern.

"Oh, hey Ri. You alright? The junior rockers did really well today, I was impressed." Mitchie said as cheerily as she could. She hated that Shane still made her cry.

"Er, thanks." Marie said, rubbing her neck awkwardly, still not used to taking compliments. "You're song was amazing." She continued. "It's about Shane isn't it?" Mitchie didn't respond, instead opting to look at the ground. Marie moved closer, wrapping her arm around her friend's shoulder. "Listen to me Mitch, don't let him get away."

"He's already gone." Mitchie muttered, knowing she could talk to Marie, knowing she would understand, being in a similar situation.

"If you believe that, then you're crazy." Marie stated. "He was in love with you Mitchie, those feelings don't just disappear." She said the words, though didn't listen to them herself. She didn't think Jason had ever loved her. "You have to fight for him Mitchie. If you just let him go because you're scared to put yourself out there, you'll regret it for a long time." Mitchie looked up at Marie and noticed her gaze was fixed on Jason and Peggy as the happy couple shared a brief kiss. Maybe she was right, Mitchie thought, maybe there was still a chance for them. "I have to go. Just think about it, okay?" Marie gave her a hug before walking away. Mitchie watched as she walked as far away from Peggy and Jason as she could, still struggling to deal with their relationship. She never wanted to be that way with Shane.

**AN: Here you go, another chapter. I enjoyed writing this one, especially Mitchie's part. Catch me is one of my favourite Demi Lovato songs. More soon I promise. Review if you can!**


	15. The Smitchie Situation

**A massive apology from me, I know it has been a stupidly long time since I last updated this. Basically at the end of September I moved to uni and since then I have been really busy settling in, getting to know people and doing work. I finally have some free time so will try to update a bit more frequently.**

Chapter 15 – The Smitchie Situation

"They're going to kill us for this." Caitlyn muttered as she, Eliza and Nate sat in one of the practise cabins launching their plan. By the end of that day things would either be much better, or a lot worse, in the world of Smitchie.

"No going back now." Nate whispered as Shane walked into the cabin.

"Hey, what's so urgent you needed me instantly?" Shane asked. He'd received a text from Nate instructing him to come straight to this cabin for an important meeting.

"Er, a song?" Nate said, trying to stall. They'd relied on their two friends arriving at similar times, meaning little explanation would be needed, but Mitchie was taking longer than expected.

"Right... want to give me a bit more explanation?" Nate was saved from having to by the arrival of Ms Torres. The other three moved towards the door.

"What's going on?" Mitchie asked.

"Just remember this wasn't my idea." Caitlyn said before slipping out the door.

"You'll thank me later." Eliza whispered to Shane before following her friend outside. Nate moved so he was right beside the door.

"Don't you dare..." Shane said in a threatening tone as he suddenly realised what his friends were up to.

"Sorry dude. We will explain." With that Nate left, closing the door behind him and locking it with the key he had stolen from Brown's office. The girls had made sure all windows were shut too, knowing their friends may resort to climbing out of one, but wouldn't smash them.

"Nate, you get back here right now and let me out or I will be forced to punish you in your sleep!" Shane yelled, banging on the door.

"No. Now shut up and listen to Eliza." She appeared on the other side of the door, taunting Shane.

"Right," She said, turning serious, "We are all sick of you two avoiding and arguing with each other."

"That's not my fault!" Shane said.

"Oh yeah, it's all me." Mitchie said bitterly.

"Shush!" Eliza yelled, pulling the two teens' attentions back to her, "So here's the deal. You will be locked in there together. The only way you will persuade us to let you out is a) by proving that you have made up and forgiven each other for everything that happened on that stupid tour." Shane tried to interrupt but Eliza put her hand up, stopping him. "Let me finish. Your other option is to sit down and write a song together. If it's good, you may persuade us."

"What about food? I'm supposed to help my mom out soon." Mitchie asked sensibly.

"Your mom knows what we are doing so Jason and his junior rockers will help her in the kitchen tonight. As for making sure you two don't starve from stubbornness, there is a basket over there," She pointed at the large picnic hamper placed in the corner, "which contains all of your food for the evening. Don't eat it all in one go, knowing you two, it will have to last you a long time."

"What if we don't make up tonight?" Shane asked, doubting they would reconcile.

"Then you'll stay in there. We will cover your classes and you'll starve. It's your choice." Shane paced around a bit, trying to think of ways to get out of this situation. He may have asked Eliza to help him sort things out, but he hadn't expected her to resort to this.

"We can just get someone else to come over and let us out." He said.

"At least one of us will be guarding you at all times. Marie, Jason, Peggy and Ella are all on our side. There's no way out Shane, so I suggest you get talking." With that she moved away from the door, joining Nate and Caitlyn on the picnic bench they'd positioned beside the cabin.

"You might be my sister Eliza but right now, I hate you." Shane yelled.

"That's a bit harsh." Mitchie muttered from her position on the piano stool in the middle of the room. Shane rolled his eyes and moved to look in the basket, taking out one of the sandwiches and wolfing it down. He was about to eat another when Mitchie's voice interrupted.

"You do realise they mean it when they say that's the only food they'll give us, right?"

"They can't let us starve." Shane retorted.

"It's Nate, Eliza and Caitlyn. They'd let us burn to death before letting us out." Perhaps she was being a bit overdramatic but she knew her friends were unlikely to budge unless they obeyed the rules.

They sat in an awkward silence, neither wanting to give in first, growing gradually more and more bored.

The silence was deafening to the two music orientated kids. Mitchie let her fingers run over the piano's keys mindlessly, a tune erupting naturally. Shane looked up, about to ask her to stop, when he heard her start to sing quietly to herself, making up the words on the spur of the moment.

_Here I am_

_Feels like the walls are closing in_

_Once again_

_It's time to face it and be strong._

She stopped. It was brief, but to Shane it was beautiful. Mitchie could feel his eyes on her and looked up, unable to prevent the blush that coated her cheeks.

"What?" She asked, getting very uncomfortable under his gaze.

"Nothing, sorry. That was good. I thought you stopped writing?"

"How did you know?" Since the break up Mitchie had struggled, and eventually refused, to write a single song, always finding her emotions getting in the way.

"Eliza." He replied. His sister was the only person he'd talked to about Mitchie since that day on tour. They lapsed into silence again, neither realising how desperate the other was to apologise and make things right again, both equally stubborn.

The dinner bell rang but the three friends sat on the bench outside moved nowhere. They'd created a picnic of their own, planning to keep a continual eye on Smitchie until the group work session.

"Are you going to tell them tonight?" Caitlyn asked, retrieving her chicken salad from their basket of goodies.

"The songs done, it just depends on those two." Nate replied, motioning to the cabin, "I want to tell everyone together so unless they make up in the next two hours, it'll have to wait."

"I don't think it'll take too long. All they need is one little spark and then they'll sort things out in no time." Eliza commented.

"How's lockdown going?" Marie had just finished her guitar lesson and decided to drop by the others on the way to dinner to see how things were working out.

"Slowly, though we did hear some piano playing so we're hoping that's a step forward." Nate explained.

"They haven't bitten each other's heads off yet." Caitlyn added.

"Is it bad that I want them to make up by writing a song?" Marie asked, "Their duets are so good, we need a new one." The others agreed.

"You joining us for dinner?" Eliza asked, patting the seat beside her.

"I promised I'd eat with Mel, but I'll come see you after, I have a pretty free evening." Marie replied before rushing off to the mess hall.

_CR-CR-CR _

Marie took the seat Melissa had saved for her, joining Barron, Ella, Sander and the rest of Mel's band. They had one of the busiest tables in the room, and that was without half their usual group.

"Sorry I'm late, I stopped by the Smitchie sitch." She explained as she started to munch on a famous Torres burger.

"Do the others really think that's going to work?" Barron asked, doubting the likelihood of success.

"I think it's got a chance." Ella replied, "Its Shane and Mitchie, they're like the perfect couple. If they can't make it work, what chance do that rest of us have?" Barron wrapped his arm around her lovingly.

"We're just as good as they used to be." He whispered, causing her to giggle.

The sound of stiletto heels clacking across the floor made Marie sigh in disappointment. Since Pyjama Jam Marie had done everything she could to avoid the strawberry blonde head of her enemy.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the camp slut." Alexandra said as she came to a stop behind Marie. "And fatty too by the looks of the amount she has on her plate." The two girls flanking her giggle in a clearly fake manner. Marie kept looking straight ahead, refusing to turn and rise to the bait. "Oh diddums, she's ignoring me. What, did we hurt your feelings? That's such a shame. Maybe you should go and cry into your teddy bear like a baby." Alexandra said in an extremely patronising voice. Marie spun round in shock and fury.

"What?" She exclaimed, rising from her seat so she was face to face with her foe. She didn't know how Alexandra knew about Jonas, the teddy Jason had brought her, but she was going to find out.

"Oh, you know. The teddy that sits on your bed. The one you snuggle up to every night. It's just _so_ adorable." Alexandra teased, ruffling Marie's hair as if she were a small child.

"Shut up." Marie barked. That teddy was the one symbol she had of her and Jason's relationship on the tour. She'd even named it after him, though the others had yet to figure that out. She was very protective of it.

"Did I hit a sore spot?" She cracked up with laughter, her minions following suit. Melissa saw the anger in Marie's eyes and decided to attempt to break things up before they got violent.

"Lexi, just leave us alone, alright." She said, positioning herself between the two rowing girls.

"Issa, seriously, you're standing up for this slut? Wow, I know you've made some bad decisions in the past but this is an all time low for you."

"You should leave. Now." Melissa tried to sound menacing but there was a clear shakiness in her voice which ruined the effect.

"Bless, cuz, you really think you can intimidate me? That's so sweet."

"Cuz?" Sander muttered to the others, clarifying he'd heard correctly. They all just shrugged, not sure what she meant either.

"You couldn't do so when you were five and you really can't now. But don't worry, we we'll leave. This isn't over though. Trust me." If she'd used any other phrase Marie would have left it, but as she heard her utter her most hated words, her hand grabbed her glass of water from the table and seconds later the strawberry blonde found herself on the receiving end of an unplanned shower. With a quick glance around the hall, making sure Brown was nowhere to be seen, Marie returned to her seat and continued eating her meal, keeping her back to her enemy continually whilst a content smile played on her face. Revenge was sweet.

With a huff Alexandra strutted from the mess hall, her two followers tottering behind. When she was sure they were gone Melissa also returned to her seat, only to be confronted by confused looks from the others. All except Marie.

"You told her, yeah? About Jonas?" Marie asked, though it was more like a statement. Her gaze didn't leave her burger.

"Marie I am so sorry it's just..."

"It's fine." Marie said, cutting Melissa off. She didn't want to get into it here. "We'll talk later." She stood up, losing her appetite for her burger. "Who wants dessert?" She asked before heading to the table of food.

"Is she angry?" Melissa asked, unable to read her cabin mate.

"Oh yeah." Barron said.

"You're in trouble." Sander replied.

_CR-CR-CR_

"You hungry?" Shane asked, returning to the picnic basket and glancing over at Mitchie as she remained at the piano stool. She shrugged and said nothing. "They've given us some pretty decent food." He commented.

"Yeah?" Mitchie responded as her stomach growled, making her hunger clear. She moved closer to the basket like a cat preparing to attack its prey, not sure it was safe.

"Man they've seriously thought this through." Shane muttered as he lifted out a small Tupperware container.

"What's in there?" Mitchie asked, taking a seat on the other side of the basket.

"Cupcakes covered in blue icing." He said as he handed the box over, taking one for himself and scooping the icing off the top with his finger. Mitchie stared at the cakes. Sometimes she couldn't help but love her friends, even when they were being evil.

"From the first time we spoke." Mitchie said, taking a cake for herself.

"There's a way to speak to a person and that's not it." He said, quoting her.

"You remember what I said?" Mitchie replied, surprised.

"You were the first one to properly call me out on my actions, it was a big moment for me." They sat quietly eating their cakes.

"We never got your allergy list." Mitchie told him, remembering why he had come into the kitchen that day.

"I didn't get my manager to send it over." Shane admitted. "They weren't real allergies; I just used them to make myself feel more important, because people had to do special things for me. I was a jerk."A year ago Shane would never have admitted that.

"Was?" Mitchie teased, though instantly regretted it when she realised they still weren't at a stage where they could joke about.

Shane stood and walked to a window, staring out at his friends laughing as they talked outside. He knew they were trying to help, but couldn't they see how hard it was for him to sit in this room with her and not be able to hold her in his arms and say he loved her, tell her he had their entire future together planned out. It was hard enough with the others around during group sessions and meals, this was more like hell.

"What happened to us?" Her voice was quiet and for a moment Shane thought he'd imagined it. He sighed, picking up his guitar, which Nate had made sure to steal earlier in the day, and slumping into a chair.

"I don't even know." He muttered.

**AN: There you have it, another chapter. I promise I will do my best to update at least once a week. I will get this story finished. Thanks for reading, despite the long delay. **


	16. Clearing Minds

**AN: Sorry about the massive delay, life around here is crazy. I'm going to try and finish this story off soon, though I doubt many people are still reading because I am so useless**

_CR-CR-CR_

Shane just kept playing the same chords over and over again. He had an idea but wasn't sure how Mitchie would react.

Before they'd broken up Shane had sat and written a list of what was getting to him about her and their relationship, hoping that seeing it written down and out of his head would make things better. It had been Nate's idea. It was the last time Shane was taking advice from his little brother, it had just made things even worse when he realised how much was wrong.

The others wanted them to write a song or resolve their issues, Mitchie wanted to know what had caused their relationship to go so wrong. He couldn't just talk to her, when he'd tried before the words had just come out wrong. But what if he tried a different method? He was a musician, he made a career out of expressing himself through song, maybe that was the way to explain.

He adjusted his position, sitting so he could rest the guitar more comfortably on his lap, but also so he could see Mitchie's face as he played, no matter how hard she tried to hide it with her long brown locks. Once more he began to play the same chords he had earlier and after thinking where to start his explanation, he added lyrics to the music.

_She's way too serious_

_She's always in a rush_

_And interrupting_

_Like she doesn't even care. _

Mitchie looked up, surprised to hear him sing after only hearing music for the last hour. As she watched him play she was shocked by how serious he looked. Shane glanced up and for the briefest second their gazes met before Mitchie turned away, unable to look him in the eye. He kept playing but there seemed to be no more lyrics. Mitchie wondered if it had been just a brief moment of inspiration or if there was deeper meaning to what he had sung. Then, as unexpectedly as before, more lyrics flowed from his lips.

_She's always trying to save the day_

_Just want to let the music play_

_She's all or nothing_

_But my feelings never change_

_I try to read her mind_

Mitchie realised what he was doing. This was the explanation she'd wanted for so long and yet, now she was getting it, she didn't want to hear it. Ever since they broke up Mitchie always blamed Shane, she convinced herself that it was what he did that caused the end of their relationship. She hadn't considered she could be just as responsible in his eyes.

"Shane, I..." She tried to get him to stop, but didn't get the chance. He seemed to have slipped into that secondary world she had seen him be in whenever he really focused on a song. Once he started then it was hard to stop him. More lyrics filled the cabin.

_She tries to pick a fight_

_To get attention_

_That's what all of my friends say._

His friends had always warned him off her, claiming it was destined to end badly one day. But Shane never listened, he knew that out of all the people in his life, Mitchie had been the one he could trust the most. But as his friends kept telling him her actions were for attention and they started fighting more, his belief had wavered.

"Stop. Please" He opened his eyes to see hers filled with tears. And though he hated to admit it, it made him happy to see that for once she was realising it wasn't only him that caused them to be in this situation. He put the guitar down beside him but their eye contact never broke.

"Do you really think all of that?" Shane didn't respond and Mitchie knew that meant he did. As Shane grabbed his guitar again Mitchie's heart sunk, she didn't want to hear any more of how she'd hurt him. But then she became confused. Shane was holding the guitar out to her, waiting for her to take it.

"I've told you my side. It's only fair you get a chance to tell yours." Shane explained. For a few seconds Mitchie just stared at the instrument before slowly taking it and finding a comfortable position to play it in. She started strumming the same tune as him, a few chords higher to suit her vocal tones. At first she just played, unsure what she needed or wanted to say, but as she started the refrain of chords for a fifth time, suddenly it all just poured out.

_It's like he doesn't hear a word I say_

_His mind is somewhere far away_

_And I don't know how to get there_

_It's like_

_All he wants is to chill out_

_Makes me want to pull all my hair out_

_Like he doesn't even care_

Shane couldn't resist the small smile forming on his lips as he heard her echo one of his lines. If they could get past the anger, hurt and stubbornness, they could have another successful duet in the making.

The words kept flowing from Mitchie's lips. Now she'd started, she wanted to get it all out in the open. Maybe it finally was time to sort this whole messed up situation out.

_Why does he try to read my mind?_

_It's not good to psychoanalyse_

_That's what all of my friends say_

Mitchie kept playing, but before she could sing her next line, Shane jumped in, adding one of his own.

_When I'm yes she's no_

Mitchie retaliated

_When I hold on he just lets go. _

_We're perfectly imperfect_

Their eyes locked across the room, that spark that had dulled for the past few months now lit again. They both realised how horrible it was being apart and in that single moment they were both determined that they could no longer survive apart

_But I wouldn't change a thing._

Shane sang out then all of a sudden the music stopped. Mitchie put the guitar down, but she didn't take her eyes off Shane. Slowly, almost as if they'd planned it, they both stood up and walked closer together until they were mere centimetres apart. Mitchie looked up into Shane's chocolate brown eyes, remembering every highlight and shadow within their colour. Shane could feel her breath on his neck, he'd missed having her this close to him. He slid his hand down her arm, gently taking her hand in his. They stood there mesmerized by each other until suddenly, without either of them knowing who started it, their lips touched. Fireworks exploded within their minds as everything over the last few months washed away and all that was left was them stood there in perfect harmony, wondering why they'd ever been apart.

_CR-CR-CR_

"Marie, I'm really sorry I didn't tell you." Mel apologised, chasing after her roommate. They'd finished dinner and Marie had instantly stood and walked from the room currently making a b-line for the woods.

Marie kept walking. She wasn't sure what she felt about the fact that the roommate she had come to trust over the summer had kept secret that she was her arch enemy's cousin. Not only that, but to know Mel had told Alexandra some of their cabins events, Marie didn't know what think. Yet oddly, she didn't feel hurt. It was just another disappointment which she felt was inevitable. Marie heard Melissa yell her name once more and, hearing the guilt in her friend's voice, stopped with a sigh.

"I'm not mad at you Mel. I get it." Marie said, turning around. "I just wish you'd told us up front. It's not exactly like you had a choice about Alexandra being your cousin."

"I shouldn't have told her anything it's just," Melissa paused. Marie looked at the girl she'd come to call a friend. Mel didn't need to say anything else, Marie understood. She'd known girls like Alexandra before, many times, and she knew just how hard not letting things slip around that type of person was.

"You don't need to apologise. I just need to get some air. We'll speak in the cabin later, okay?" Marie just wanted to get to her safe space in the woods. She didn't know why but she had a sense that it was going to end up being a very dramatic.

"Please don't be angry." Mel begged. Marie gave a small smile, walking over to her and wrapping her arms around the young drummer.

"I'm not. Trust me, it takes a lot more than that to annoy me." They hugged for a moment longer before Marie pulled away and, giving Mel another smile, continued making her way to the woods.

_CR-CR-CR_

Jason wandered away from the lake. He didn't understand what Shane meant about its healing powers. He'd been sat down at the dock for the last hour trying to work things through in his mind, with no success. He and Peggy had been fighting and he'd had enough, telling her he needed some space before wandering away. He hadn't even known where he was going til he was stood staring at the water unable to take any steps further forward.

Now his mind was no emptier and, as Nate had just informed him, he now had to attend the usual group session, when all he wanted to do was lock himself in the cabin and escape everything. The last few weeks had made him start to question a lot of aspects of his life, but hadn't left him any time to answer the questions swimming around in his mind.

"Why is it always you I bump into over here?" Marie's voice broke through his deep thoughts as she appeared in front of him, a smile on her lips but sadness clear in her voice. "Why aren't you over at the rehearsal cabin guarding Smitchie like the others?"

"I needed to clear my head." Jason explained. "Nate just rang and told me we're needed at the cabin though. Lucky I found you really." He gently gripped her by the shoulders and spun her around, surprised by how little resistance she put up.

"And there was me hoping for a night off to just chill out." Marie sighed. She knew she had no choice but to go, if she didn't turn up her sister would spend the next few hours locating and interrogating her.

"Come on, it's just an hour, surely you can deal with that?" Jason responded, despite the fact he felt exactly the same way. They slowly wandered back towards the centre of camp in a companionable silence, until Jason spoke up again. "What were you doing out by the lake anyway?" Marie turned her face away from him, well aware of how well he could read her, before responding.

"I just needed some time and space to think about some stuff. It's all good though." She flashed him a cheery smile, but the look on his face proved her right, he could read her like a book.

"What happened?" His tone was serious and concerned, but in a way that made Marie's recent determination not to complain about her life to anyone almost crumble away. Almost

"Nothing, just wondering whether coming here was the best choice. It's not how I imagined it would be, that's all." So it wasn't the whole truth, but Marie hoped it would be enough to dissuade him from asking anymore questions.

"You seriously regret coming here? It's not how I imagined it either." This summer had turned out very differently to how he'd initially imagined it back when they were on tour and had been told about the opportunity. Back when things were simple. "There's only a few weeks left at least, then you can always go back to your normal life if you want."

Inside Marie shuddered. What was 'normal' anymore? All she could see her future consisting of was a life of being 'that girl who's Eliza Austen's sister'. She didn't say anything more and moments later they arrived at the cabin. Though they couldn't explain it, the pair of them had a sense that the drama of the day wasn't over. In fact, it had only just begun.

**AN: Yes officially I suck. By summer I should have this story complete, even if no one is reading anymore. **


	17. Introducing Me

**A/N : I'm back! And I promise in the next two/three weeks there will be lots of updates leading up to the final chapter of this story. For now here's chapter 18. I wrote two versions of this but think this is the better one.**

The others were all gathered in the cabin when Marie and Jason arrived. It was instantly obvious that everything was resolved between Smitchie, their arms tightly wrapped around each other, the gooey look between them that the gang knew only too well.

Marie couldn't help but glance at Jason. The reunion of Shane and Mitchie made her think of how different things could have been if she'd kissed him that night. But that was the past and Marie was well aware the past couldn't be changed.

Nate took charge of the session as he usually did, but this time there was one main reason; he'd made a deal with Eliza and Caitlyn which had been dependant on Mitchie and Shane's decision. Now the lockdown was over and the group session was back on, Nate had no choice but to follow through on his part.

"I know we weren't meant to have a session today but for once Shane stopped being an idiot quickly." Shane shot his younger brother an evil glare, "I'm joking dude, calm down. As I was saying, we have time for a bit more work on our song." He took a deep breath. Now or never. "But there's something I want to tell you first." Eliza and Caitlyn smiled encouragingly at Nate, impressed he was actually going through with this. "Everyone keeps asking about Andy Green." Shane groaned, clearly not pleased about the mention of the pop star he was starting to see as a rival. "There's something I need to tell you guys. I didn't know how to say it so I thought I'd sing it instead. If you were in the girls cabin the other night when we were all talking about him this might make more sense."

Caitlyn passed Nate his guitar. She'd heard the song he and Eliza had been working on to inform the others guys. She knew that even if the others didn't instantly understand what he was trying to say, Andy Green had another hit on his hands.

_I'm good at wasting time,_

_I think lyrics need to rhyme_

_And you're not asking_

_But I'm tryna grow a moustache_

Marie chuckled, Nate had been telling her for months he was considering facial hair. Each time he brought it up the image had just made her laugh.

_I eat cheese_

_But only on pizza please_

_Sometimes on a homemade quesadilla _

_Otherwise it tastes like feet to me_

"What about nachos?" Jason asked, genuinely confused as he was certain he'd seen his brother eat nachos coated in cheese only a few days before. Nate ignored him and continued

_And I, I really like it when the moon looks like a toenail_

_And I love it when you say my name._

Nate glanced at Marie, that line had been added in extra, just for her.

_If you want to know_

_Here it goes_

_Gonna tell you there's a part of my that shows_

_If we're close_

_Gonna let you see everything_

_But remember that you asked for it_

_I'll try to do my best_

_To impress_

_But it's easier to let you take a guess_

_At the rest_

_But you wanna know the things in my brain_

_And my heart, well you asked for it_

_ For your perusing_

_At times confusing_

_Slightly amusing_

_Introducing me._

Something about Nate's introduction to the song, and the lyrics he was now singing, struck a memory in Shane's mind.

"_**Stupid stuff. Like does he have facial hair? What phase of the moon does he like best, does he prefer dogs or cats? What's his dream car? You know, dumb stuff that doesn't matter but makes him seem like a normal person. Knowing that stuff makes us fans feel closer to you celebrity types."**_ That's what Melissa had said that night. And Mitchie had added more:

"_**I don't care about what colour hair he has, but knowing if he's a funny guy or uber serious, though not that important, is interesting"**_

Shane remembered that he too had joined in the argument, stating "_**I doubt the guy will ever come clean about himself. He's got enough fans without people knowing his real identity so why should he reveal it?" **_

But Nate had argued back, sounding so certain;

"_**I'm not so sure. I think he'll introduce himself sooner than you think." **_

_Never really been into cars_

_I like really cool guitars _

_And superheroes_

_And cheques with lots of zeros on them _

_I love the sound of violins_

_And making someone smile _

The return to the chorus brought Shane back to the present, realisations slowly dawning on him. Nate had said Andy Green would 'introduce' himself soon and here was Nate singing about 'introducing me', yet Shane knew some of the stuff Nate was claiming wasn't true of himself. He was obsessed with cars and really didn't care about money. So maybe this song wasn't about him, maybe his little brother had been hiding something.

_Well you probably know more than you ever wanted to_

_So be careful when you ask next time_

As light bulbs switched on in Shane's head, Mitchie, Marie and Jason stayed in the dark. Before Nate could launch into the final repetition of the chorus, words came tumbling out of Shane's mouth.

"You've been writing songs for him haven't you." Shane was certain he'd figured out the big revelation and whilst he was angry is brother was working for the competition, he was pleased he had guessed it before being told.

"Er... Not exactly." Shane's joy fell instantly. He didn't like being wrong.

"Then what are you trying to say Nate?" Mitchie asked, sensing the impending announcement was not something that would best please them and so wanting it out the way.

"I _am_ Andy Green."

The room fell deadly silent. No one knew how to react as those in the dark tried to contemplate what had just been announced and those who knew already awaited the others' reactions.

The cabin door banged shut and the gang spun round to see Jason's form quickly retreating away from them. Out of all of them, Jason had been the one Nate had never expected to react badly.

"I'll go talk to him. Marie said after a few moments. She grabbed her stuff and headed in the direction she knew he would have headed.

"You need to stop this Alex." Melissa was sat in her cousin's room, having decided that she needed to make things up to Marie and no longer wanted to act as Alexandra's spy.

"What, you think coming here and saying 'stop' is going to make me change my plans?" In all honesty Melissa had hoped it would. Clearly she was wrong.

"What has she even done to deserve you treating her so badly?" Melissa assumed her cousin wouldn't have an answer. She hoped her lack of reason may make Alexandra decide to back off, at least for a while.

Alexandra took a deep breath. For once she was going to be honest.

"She has all the connections, options, friends and talent you need to make it in this industry we're all trying to break into. She's been given so many chances we would all kill to have, yet she doesn't seem to care. I mean, why is she even here if she doesn't want the career we're all fighting for?"

Melissa had been all geared up to fight for Marie, defend her against whatever stupid reason Alexandra had for acting the way she was. However, with the explanation given, Mel found herself at a loss for words. Her cousin was right. Whilst Marie went to the classes and joined in, it never seemed like music was the reason she was there. She had the talent to make it in music, that was clear from the times Melissa had heard her sing in the shower and seen her perform in class. But she was here to spend time with her friends and sister, it was all fun for her, not important. And what made it worse was, for her it was free. Maybe the way Alex was dealing with it wasn't good but at the same time, Melissa couldn't help but think perhaps her cousin had a point.

"Getting on her bad side isn't going to get you any further, think about it that way." Melissa said the only response she could think of.

"Ah, so maybe you aren't the innocent person you pretend to be." Alexandra replied, reading a little too much into her cousin's words.

"What do you mean?" Melissa asked, confused about what was being implied.

"You're very clever Mel, befriending the girl with all the contacts. And you did it so subtly no one noticed. Impressive." Melissa wanted to fight back, tell her she was totally wrong, but a voice in the back of her head pointed out she had put herself in a very strong position. She couldn't believe it, that perhaps subconsciously she'd been preparing herself a back up plan if camp fell through. She felt guilty, instantly wanting to apologise to them, even though they had no idea. Without responding to her cousin's comment she left the cabin, deciding she needed to start making things up to the gang of friends.

"So _you're_ Andy Green?" Mitchie clarified when the silence of the cabin was starting to get uncomfortable. No one had spoken since Marie left.

"I should have told you sooner, I know, but I wanted to know it was going to be a success before I made it official."

"Made what official?" Shane asked, apprehensive about his brother's response. "You planning on going solo full time?"

"No, of course not. Connect 3 is and always will be my main priority. Andy Green is just a side project." Nate replied, trying to avoid a fight with his older brother.

"How's that going to work then?" Shane wanted the logistics of the situation explained before they went any further.

"As it has done for the last few months?"

"With the secrecy? Nate, I'm all for keeping Connect 3 together but Andy's got a lot of fans who are all begging for a tour. You can't keep it hidden for much longer, it isn't fair on all those supporting you." Mitchie argued.

"You two are staying pretty quiet." Shane pointed out, noticing the lack of contribution from his sister and Caitlyn.

"We already knew." Eliza replied bluntly.

"They've been helping me with songs and stuff." Nate admitted.

"Should have guessed that." Shane said.

"Listen Shane, Nate didn't do this against you or Jase, in fact he did it under a false name to protect Connect 3." Caitlyn was ready to protect her boyfriend against anyone.

"No he didn't." Shane chimed in, "yeah, maybe that was a small part of it, but he actually came up with the fake name to give himself a fresh chance. There's no point denying it Nate, it was a wise move, we've had our fair share of bad press and biased judgements. I don't actually have a problem with Nate doing solo stuff."

That surprised the others. They'd expected Shane to go mental at the news.

"Personally I quite like Andy Green's music, it's good." Shane admitted. "Like I said the other day, the thing I have against him is all the secrecy. You guys have to agree we've all had our fair share of drama caused by secrets." Eliza blushed, knowing he was referring to her revelations and the fact they no longer spoke to their parents. "So maybe you should learn from that and let your fans know the truth."

"But how would I do so without losing them all?" It was another issue Nate had recently trying to work out how to resolve.

"Brown's been trying to get Andy to play final jam and be part of the prize, right?" Mitchie said, a plan forming, "So agree to it and then you can reveal it on final jam night. A small audience to reveal it to, bit of a media storm, but then it's all done and dusted. Yeah you might lose a few fans but if so, they weren't true fans."

"What do you think Shane?" This decision didn't affect him only, it affected the entire band.

"I say go for it."

Nate agreed to talk to Brown the next day to make the necessary arrangements. As they were agreeing the final details, Eliza's phone rang, interrupting their discussions.

"I have to get this." She slipped from the room, answering the call as soon as she was in private.

Caitlyn got suspicious. For months Eliza had been slipping off to take private calls, never speaking about them when she eventually returned. Caitlyn had her own theory about who was on the end of the phone.

"I think someone's gotten herself a boyfriend." Caitlyn whispered to Mitchie, and both girls instantly knew that later that night a girly gossip session would be necessary.

**AN: That ended a little earlier than I originally planned but I wanted to get a chapter up tonight and that seemed a good place to stop. If all goes to plan I'll have another chapter up tomorrow or Friday, we'll see. Please read and review, I promise this story will reach an end point as I now have the time to focus on it.**


	18. Brought Together and Torn Apart

**AN: Sorry! I got a job last minute, then went on holiday and haven't had access to a computer for a while. Lots of updates coming now, promise**

Chapter 18 – Brought Together and Torn Apart

"Jason?" Marie called, as she wandered through the woods. "Jay?" She'd gone to their usual place but seen him retreat away as she'd been approaching. Now she was traipsing through the trees trying to listen for his footsteps to locate him. "Come on Jay, please just let me talk to you." From the corner of her eye she saw him move. She turned and ran in his direction, not noticing the roots beneath her feet. That was, until she tripped and fell to the ground with a scream and a thud.

Jason spun round upon hearing her scream. When he saw her lying on the ground he rushed to her side.

"Ri? Ri are you okay?" He knelt beside her, all his thoughts from moments before wiped clear as his mind filled with worry. Marie slowly turned over. Her knee hurt and she could feel blood trickling down her face. She opened her eyes to see Jason looking excessively worried.

"I'm fine Jay, just learning that running in the woods is not a good idea." She made a joke of it in an attempt to make him calm down.

"You're bleeding." Jason said as he helped her from the ground.

"It's not that painful. Promise." Marie replied, though she winced as Jason helped her walk back to their usual seat. "Why were you hiding from me?" Jason looked at the ground.

"I wasn't." Marie gave him a look, clearly she didn't believe him.

"Then why were you in the middle of the trees?" Jason looked up, taking in that state Marie was in – her tights were ripped at the knee and she had a small cut just above her eyebrow. To most people she would look awful, to Jason she was still as beautiful as always. The concerned look she was giving him made him want to talk.

"I just wanted to be alone, I needed to think." Jason explained. Then without a moment's thought he reached up and wiped her hair away from the cut on her head. Marie felt her skin tingle at the touch.

"Because of what Nate said?" Marie asked, trying to ignore what his movements were doing to her. Jason instantly stopped, dropping his hand to his lap and glaring at the ground.

"Sort of." He sighed, his thoughts filled with confliction. The more he thought things through, the more frustrated and annoyed he got. "It's not like I care that he's Andy Green, I'm proud of him and his success." He stopped, unsure of how to continue.

"Then why did you walk off like that?" Marie tried to prompt him into telling her the truth. She took his hand, pulling his attention to her "What's the matter Jase?" She looked into his eyes and had never seen him so serious.

"I'm tired of all the lies and the secrets." Jason admitted, then stood, moving away from her while he explained. "It was bad enough find out my parents had lied to me my entire life. Now on top of that Nate's been keeping a secret from us all for the past few months, and there's also Caitlyn lying about you and Finn."

"Wait, what?" Marie asked, not knowing what Jason was talking about. But Jason just ignored her and carried on.

"But what makes it worse is," Jason kept talking and had almost forgotten he was speaking to Marie, he was saying the words just to get them out of his head, "all this time I'm getting angry at people because they're lying and hiding things from me, but all the while I'm doing exactly the same thing."

Marie didn't know what to think, but didn't want to pry if he was ready to tell the truth. He was clearly struggling to decide what to do. She stood and approached him, standing herself in front of him, then wrapped her arms around him, staring straight into his eyes.

"I'm sure you've done nothing wrong Jay." He looked down at her, the girl who always haunted his mind, who, even when she was nowhere near him, could call and he would always come running in an instant. He locked his eyes with hers. Suddenly they were transported back through all the recent months, back to that moment in the arena, the last time they'd been in this position. And yet it felt like nothing had changed. Both stood there knowing what they wanted, but neither moved.

The birds sung in the trees, the winds rustled the leaves and there in the centre of the woods Marie and Jason stood, so close to what they'd dreamt of, but neither dared leap.

"I can't do this anymore." Jason stated, bitterness and sadness mixed in his tone. He pulled Marie's arms from him, turn around and within seconds he was gone, leaving Marie rooted to the spot, broken and confused. Their spot in the woods which had brought them back together now witnessed them torn apart once more.

"You're definitely coming then?" Eliza asked as she wandered round the lake on the phone. She was pleased by the response from the other end of the line, though as the call continued she couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Nate had been honest with them, told them his big secret, yet here she was still hiding. Perhaps their group had had enough secrecy and lies, perhaps she should come clean about these calls, but she was scared of how the others would react if she did. They'd find out soon enough.

"Sorry, what?" Eliza had zoned out and missed what had just been said. The caller repeated their question, to which Eliza replied; "If everything stays as planned they will be. Brown says it's the best line up the camp has ever had for Final Jam." Eliza had to admit she was glad she had these calls. She was building up to ask the question she'd wanted to for the last few weeks when she noticed Mitchie and Caitlyn heading in her direction. She didn't want to be overheard so she apologised and hung up as fast as she could, shoving her phone in her pocket and attempting to act normal as her friends joined her.

"There you are, we've been looking all over for you for the last half hour!" Caitlyn said.

"Sorry, I wander around a lot when I'm on the phone." Eliza explained.

"Who were you talking to for so long anyway? A boy perhaps?" Mitchie hinted, digging for gossip.

"Not exactly." She didn't think revealing the truth right now would be wise. Soon, she promised herself, soon she'd let them know.

"Who then?" Caitlyn enquired, even more intrigued by her friend's actions of late.

"It's kind of complicated..." Eliza was about to explain a little more when Marie ran passed, ignoring them all, clearly not in the best of moods. Eliza noticed her ripped tights, the tears on her sister's cheeks and the blood smeared on her head and panicked. Last she'd seen Marie, she was running off after Jason. She wanted to know how her sister had ended up in such a state.

"Do you think she's okay?" Caitlyn asked, her gaze matcing Eliza's.

"Come on." Eliza said, leading the others as they followed Marie back to her cabin.

Jason walked into the guy's cabin, a stressed look on his face. Thoughts flooded his mind as he crossed the floor. His brothers watched him with concern then suddenly he stopped still and stared at them. Moments passed but nothing happened. And then Jason opened his mouth and declared;

"I want to leave the band."

**AN: Short chapter, another will be up in a little while, I have three/four written and may attempt to finish writing the story tonight. I finally feel inspired again. Just a pre-warning, things get a little dramatic in the next few chapters.**


	19. It's Over

Chapter 19 – It's Over

"What's wrong Marie?" Caitlyn asked, concerned about her friend. They'd followed her back to the cabin where she'd instantly curled up in bed, placing the duvet over her head, and has refused to talk since. Now Caitlyn was stood at the end of Marie's bed, alongside Mitchie and Eliza, attempting to persuade her to come out of hiding and talk to them.

"Whatever's wrong probably isn't as bad as it seems. If you tell us it'll seem better, I bet." Mitchie said, attempting to be persuasive. They seemed to be getting no further despite trying for well over an hour.

"You don't think maybe it's Jason's fault do you?" Caitlyn whispered to the other two, who nodded in agreement that it could well be.

"Would you all just shut up and leave me alone!" Marie yelled, getting bored of the incessant questioning. She sat up and threw the cover off of herself, then began searching for her shoes.

"We're just worried about you Ri." Eliza explained. She hadn't seen her sister this upset since Pyjama Jam and all she wanted to do was protect her and make everything okay.

"Stop worrying about me. Stop trying to protect me." Marie knew her sister too well, "I'm not a little kid anymore so stop treating me like one." She jammed her feet into her shoes and headed for the door.

"I'll stop treating you like one when you stop acting like one." Eliza hadn't meant to yell back but Marie's actions had pushed her to it. She instantly regretted it when she saw the mixture of hurt, anger and sadness that crossed Marie's face before she stormed out of the cabin and took off running across the darkness.

"Now what do we do?" Mitchie asked. Caitlyn shrugged, she hadn't expected the situation to escalate so much.

"Leave her to come back when she's calmed down I guess." The other two hadn't noticed the look on Eliza's face. She clearly didn't feel comfortable with the fact her sister had just run away when it was nearly eleven o'clock at night.

"We need to get the guys here and try to find her." Eliza declared. She knew that later on she'd probably have to reveal some information she'd wanted to keep quiet, just to persuade them it was necessary they go and find her sister. It seemed to be a day for secrets to come to light.

"So we're definitely going to do this?" Shane asked, wanting to be certain he wasn't hearing things and that he and his brothers had just come to the decision he thought they had.

"We'll talk to Brown in the morning, then once camp ends, Connect 3 will go on a break for as long as we need to." Nate repeated what they had agreed. Although he knew their fans would be disappointed, inside he felt a little bit relieved. He could have the chance to properly focus on solo stuff for a while. And only an hour before had Shane been telling him how he'd written a few solo songs of his own. That's why he was surprised it was their eldest brother who had requested time away. But as he looked at the stressed expression on Jason's face Nate realised that maybe he really did need this break.

"Thanks guys, I'm glad you understood." Jason said.

"It's cool Jase, but I've got to ask, why now? It seems really out of the blue." Shane still didn't understand how this had all happened so quickly.

"I'll explain later, I've got something I've got to do first." Before either of his brothers could say anything in response Jason had rushed out the door again.

"That was odd." Shane stated, used to his older brother always being the calm one. He'd never seen Jason as he'd seemed just then. "You reckon he's okay?" Nate didn't know, though he hoped Jason would tell them what was wrong sooner rather than later.

Peggy sat on the dock, her feet dangling in the lake. She had been about to go to bed when she'd gotten a call from a rather frantic sounding Jason asking her to meet him on the dock in thirty minutes. Though she tried all she could to ignore the thoughts running through her mind, Peggy couldn't quite silence the voice telling her this wasn't going to end well.

As she waited for her boyfriend's arrival she found herself humming a tune she had stuck in her head. She'd written it whilst messing around on her guitar earlier that day, though she found herself having extreme writers block when it came to trying to think of lyrics. She knew something would come to her eventually but she found herself getting impatient. Brown had asked her to perform at Beach Jam in two days time and she had wanted to try and showcase a new track.

She hummed her way through the song, staring at the moonlight reflecting in the water, not noticing the eldest Grey arriving behind her.

"That sounds really good." Jason commented, making Peggy jump. She smiled when he sat down beside her, taking her hand.

"You're late." Se teased.

"Sorry, I had to talk to my brothers." Jason's tone added to Peggy's concerns.

"Is everything okay?" She asked, moving closer to him. Jason hung his head and sighed, knowing there was no backing out. This was what he needed to do to make everything okay again.

"We need to stop lying." He stated, dropping her hand and staring out over the lake. He hated having to do this, hated that he'd ended up in this situation through very little choice.

"What do you mean... oh." Peggy realised what he meant and was lost for words. She'd seen it coming from the moment they got to camp but had held out hope that it wouldn't happen. She'd fallen, and hard, but ultimately knew she'd end up hurt.

"I can't keep pretending anymore Peggy. I'm lying to the fans, to my friends and my family. Everything's already such a mess because my parents spent my entire life lying to me, I can't do that to everyone I care about."

They sat in silence. Peggy wasn't sure how to react. She leant over and wrapped her arms around Jason, holding him tight. She knew this hadn't been something he'd wanted to agree to at first but he'd done it for his brothers and the band and now she didn't want to let go.

Marie hadn't stopped running since leaving the cabin. She didn't know where she was going, she just let her feet carry her further and further. She could see the lake up ahead and for a moment considered stopping there, then she saw them and realised it was a bad idea. She watched as Peggy wrapped her arms around Jason, holding him tightly. Marie felt so stupid, so hurt. Jason kept leading her on, kept giving her moments where she thought maybe, just maybe, she could get another chance, but then he'd remind her that only weeks after she'd left he had moved on, not even cared enough to tell her. On top of getting to be in his arms, Peggy got to be the one he would talk to now when he was upset, she'd taken Marie's place in his life.

Feeling very alone all of a sudden she picked up her pace, running along the edge of the lake and into the woods, the one place on the whole camp where she felt safe, despite that fact that within the trees it was so dark she could barely see.

"Are we going to tell the girls?" Shane asked, unsure whether telling them would be wise at this point.

"We have to Shane. Lying never gets us anywhere, keeping secrets is just as bad." Almost as if they had known they were being discussed Nate's phone rang, flashing Caitlyn's name on the screen. "But maybe we should wait until we've told Brown." Nate continued before answering the phone.

Shane watched as Nate listened to whatever Caitlyn was saying, growing concerned as he saw the serious look developing on his brother's face.

"What do you mean 'gone'?" Nate asked and instantly Shane leapt from his bed, wanting to know what was going on. Nate stuck out his hand, indicating to Shane that everything was okay and he'd explain once he was off the phone. "We'll be there in a minute, it'll be fine, I promise." Nate hung up and turned to his expectant brother. "Marie was upset, got angry at the girls and stormed out of the cabin. She hasn't got her phone so they have no idea where she's gone and Eliza's apparently freaking out and wants us all to go over there so we can try and find her."

"Surely she's just gone off to calm down and she'll come back when she's ready?" Shane replied, not seeing what the big deal was. In his diva days there had been many incidents where he'd stormed off, but every time he had eventually return once he had calmed down.

"That's what the others told Eliza but apparently she's insistent that we find Marie as soon as possible."

"We better get going then." Shane said, grabbing his jacket. He had a sense his sister had more reason to worry about Marie than she was letting on.

"Can I ask you something?" Peggy said as she and Jason continued to sit on the dock.

"Yeah." Jason replied, though he wouldn't look at his now ex-girlfriend.

"Did you ever have feelings for me or was it all just part of the publicity stunt for you?" The question hung in the air and the longer silence followed it, the less certain Peggy was that she actually wanted an answer.

When the first tour had ended, Jason had been spotted spending a lot of time with Peggy. He'd found in her a more genuine friendship than he had with most people he knew. But the press had misinterpreted it and Connect 3's management, seeing an opportunity to promote two of it's artists at once, had asked them to come for a secret meeting. After much discussion (and a little threatening about what would occur if it wasn't agreed to) the two of them agreed to pose as a couple, be sent on fake dates and mention in interviews how in love they were. One of the main downsides though was that neither of them were allowed to tell anyone about the fake nature of the relationship: not their family, not their friends, not even the people they may already be in love with. For the last few months it had been killing Jason.

"I wish I could say I did." He eventually replied, "You're one of my best friends and I wouldn't have wanted to fake a relationship with anyone else, but I don't feel like that for you." He didn't want to hurt her but he wanted to be truthful.

Jason had more he wanted to say, to explain that he had enjoyed the last few months and if certain circumstances hadn't occurred maybe things would have been different, but before he could they heard rushing footsteps approaching them and were unexpectedly joined by Nate and Shane.

"Jase, there you are, we need your help, Marie's run off and Eliza's really worried and we promised we would go to their cabin and help find her." Nate explained whilst clearly out of breath.

"She ran off?" Jason knew this was his fault. He'd left her in the woods, just turned and run away. He should have stayed and explained. He needed to find her, to know she was okay, to tell her the truth about everything. "I think I know where she might be. I'll go look then come back to the cabin." Jason jumped to his feet. Shane promised to text him if they found her, before he and Nate carried on towards the girls' cabin.

Jason was about to run off when Peggy stopped him.

"It was always going to be her you chose, wasn't it." It was a statement, not a question. She knew it was true. She sighed, knowing she'd let herself fall in love with someone who would never love her back. She walked away. Jason would have chased her had he not been busy worrying about the girl he really loved.

**AN: That's two chapters. And yes there is a reason Eliza is overly worried, you'll find out very soon. **


	20. A Scream Heard In The Dark

Chapter 20 – Screams Heard in the Darkness

"Where's Jason?" Eliza asked almost instantly when the guys arrived without their oldest brothers. Nate could tell she was really worried, but he still didn't understand why it was such a big deal.

"He thinks he might know where Marie's gone, he said he'd come here once he's checked." Nate explained.

"He needs to know this too." Eliza sighed. She should have told them everything a few days ago when she found out herself, but she hadn't expected that they'd need to know. She hadn't wanted them to worry unnecessarily.

"Liza, what's wrong? Ri's just gone to cool off, she'll be back soon." Nate tried to calm her down, though not very successfully.

"You don't get it. It's not safe."

"Of course it's safe, it's Camp Rock, Brown's always made sure it's totally safe." Shane replied. Eliza didn't know how to explain, she was past calmly recounting what Brown had told her the other day. Instead she just blurted it out.

"James is here."

That made everyone go quiet, their faces reflecting Eliza's.

"What do you mean he's here?" Nate asked, suddenly very serious.

"Brown called me into his office the other day," Eliza began at the beginning, "he said one of the camp's security men had seen someone sneaking through the woods at around midnight on Monday. Then yesterday one of the campers was out late and noticed someone matching James' description wandering around looking lost. Brown said we should be okay if we stayed in the normal camp boundaries and our cabins at night. But obviously now Marie's out there and James knows her as much as he knows me. She's not safe and she doesn't even know it." She sat on the edge of Marie's bed, her head in her hands. She didn't want to think about what might happen if James found her before they did.

"It's going to be okay sis, I promise." Shane said, kneeling down beside Eliza. He remembered his encounter with James last summer, remembered that the guy had been willing to kill them all. Marie was almost as much of a sister to him as Eliza and he was determined to make sure nothing happened to her. "You girls stay here in case she comes back. Me and Nate will go out looking for her."

"We'll ring Jase and fill him in while we search." Nate added.

"If we haven't found her in the next half hour, call Brown and tell him what's going on. He might be able to send security for her."

Shane and Nate both hugged their older sister, reassuring her it would all work out alright before venturing out into the darkness with no idea where to start looking.

_CR-CR-CR_

Jason walked through the woods calling Marie's name. She hadn't been at their usual spot but Jason wasn't giving up, certain he was to blame he wanted to find her and apologise. His phone rang, briefly disrupting his search. Seeing Nate's name he answered, hoping to hear that she'd come back. The news he was given instead just made him look harder.

"Marie? Marie!" He kept yelling for her. Then suddenly he went quiet. A chill ran down his spine. He'd heard a scream. He ran toward the noise, faster than he'd ever run before. He had to save her.

_CR-CR-CR_

Marie hadn't stopped walking for the last half hour. All she knew was that she wanted to get away from everything, have a chance to figure out what she wanted. As she ventured further into the woods, the night grew colder and she began to regret rushing off so quickly. She knew her friends were only trying to be there for her, but she also knew that if she told them the main problem was that she was in love with someone who didn't love her back, they'd all just tell her to grow up. In fact she wanted to tell herself to grow up.

She groaned in frustration. How had things gotten so complicated and dramatic in such a short space of time? A year ago things had been so much simpler, now she looked at herself and barely recognised the girl she saw looking back at her. Perhaps moving away with her parents would help. A fresh start with none of the celebrity drama.

A few steps further on she saw a benched carved out in the trunk of a tree, just like the one in her and Jason's spot. Finally realising just how tired she felt, she sat down, enjoying the silence and peacefulness of her surroundings. This is what she needed, time away to clear her head.

Just as she was getting comfortable, a noise broke through the silence, making her jump. It was coming from within the trees a couple of metres in front of her. Assuming it was some sort of animal, she just ignored it, returning to her thought train. But she was interrupted again moments later by the same sound, this time closer and followed by a voice exclaiming in anger.

Marie froze. Unless she was very much mistaken, which she honestly hoped she was, she knew that voice. Uncertain what to do, Marie remained still, deep in the heart of the woods. Then, from behind a tree, he appeared. She saw his face lit up by the light from his phone. Marie had seen his features too many times to be able to doubt who it was. In panic, as James took a step closer to her, she let out the loudest scream she could muster.

_CR-CR-CR_

"I should have testified." The girls had been sat in near silence since the guys left, only breaking it when Melissa arrived back at the cabin, to explain to her what was going on. She now sat alongside the others as they all tried to think where the young Austen could have gone.

"Against James?" Mitchie asked, quite surprised by Eliza's sudden declaration.

"If I'd just stopped worrying about myself and facing him again then he wouldn't be free and we wouldn't all be sat here scared about what might happen."

Although Mitchie and Caitlyn wanted to reassure their friend, they couldn't quite persuade themselves to lie this time. They'd all spent weeks trying to persuade Eliza to speak up against her evil ex, Marie had phone multiple times each day to try and make her sister see it was necessary, but Eliza had just kept refusing.

"Maybe we should think about calling Brown. Marie's been gone for a while now." Caitlyn suggested. She'd expected Marie to return within a few minutes, apologise and state that she didn't know what came over her. Now Caitlyn was starting to doubt that would happen, and she didn't particularly like that fact that Nate was out there searching for her whilst a mad man, willing to kill, was around. Caitlyn's once calm attitude was beginning to waver.

Eliza pulled out her phone and was about to hit call when she received a text from Shane. Hoping it would contain good news she opened it, but was filled with dread as she read the words on the screen.

"'Something's wrong, just heard a scream from the woods. Call Brown, may need help." Eliza read to the others before calling the camp leader.

"Hey Brown, listen, Marie's walked off and we can't find her and I think James is out there and he may have found her and I don't know if she's okay because Shane heard a scream from the woods." She blurted out.

"Eliza, breathe." Brown instructed her, whilst already calling security on the other line. "Everything's going to be okay, I'll send security out searching for her and I'll contact the police as well just in case. We'll find her, I promise." He attempted to calm her down. "Where are you right now?"

"In Marie's cabin with Caitlyn, Melissa and Mitchie." Eliza replied. Brown told her to ensure they all stayed there and said he would send a member of security to guard their door. Once she'd hung up Eliza turned to face the others and the moment they saw the tears in her eyes they gathered around and shared a group hug.

_CR-CR-CR_

"You always have to get in the way, don't you?" James snarled as he slowly moved closer to Marie, who was desperately trying to back away.

"Why are you here?" If she kept him talking Marie thought she might be able to stop him doing anything long enough for someone to find her.

"I was going to go looking for my darling Eliza, thank her for not testifying and allowing me my freedom." James explained, getting ever closer, a smirk on his face. "But now I've found you I may have some fun first. Brian did say you were very enjoyable to play with."

Marie felt sick as she heard the name of the guy she'd given everything to slip from James' mouth. How could he have known?

**AN: Ending there just because it works well for the next chapter. Big drama to come.**


	21. Cabin Confessions

**AN: Drama galore in this chapter! Enjoy**

Chapter 21: Cabin Confessions

"See, thing is, I still have friends back home. Friends with connections who are still willing to do anything for me. Seeing as I was banned from going anywhere near your sister, I thought you would be a better target." With every word James got gradually closer and Marie found herself backed up against a tree with nowhere to hide. "Turns out you were easier to get drunk than my friends or I expected. And Brian was just so good at playing along. I really did enjoy hearing him recount the story to me the next night. He definitely had fun and now it looks like I get a turn too." Marie wanted to scream, she knew she should, but he was so close to her now she could almost hear his heartbeat and she was too scared to make any noise at all.

He reached over and brushed some hair out of her face. "You know, in some ways, close up, you're so much prettier than your sister." He leant down and kissed her cheek, then her neck, before moving the strap from her shoulder, planting a small peck there too. Marie just stood frozen, too frightened to move.

James grabbed her hands, pulling them behind her back then pushing her against the tree. Marie winced in pain as she heard a crack emerge from her bones.

"Innocent little Marie, always in the way, always defending her sister. Well where's Eliza to protect you this time? You're all alone aren't you?" He stroked his hand down the side of her cheek and it took everything within Marie not to hurl. In her mind she was begging for help, but she couldn't make the words escape her lips. She closed her eyes, awaiting what she thought was inevitable.

"Get your hands off her!" They heard yelled through the trees. Marie opened her eyes to see Jason running towards her, his face full of fury. Before she could even wonder what he was doing there, Jason flung himself at James, pulling his grip from Marie, who instantly moved away and then watched stunned as Jason threw James to the ground and laid a punch straight into his nose. She'd never seen the eldest Grey so aggressive.

"You stay away from my family, my friends and most importantly Marie, you got it?" Jason instructed before throwing yet another punch, "If I _ever_ find you anywhere near us again, you're a dead man." Jason stood to walk away but James just laughed and caught hold of Jason's leg, pulling him to the floor. A full out fight broke out and Marie knew Jason would be covered in scars and bruises as a result. As neither boy seemed keen to give up until their enemy was dead, Marie cautiously moved forward and then, in one swift movement, she kicked James straight in the ribs causing him to fall to the ground and stop moving instantly.

Jason stood and grabbed Marie's hand, wanting to get her far away from him quickly, but stopped when he heard her whimper and looked down to see her wrist swollen and blue. He grabbed her other hand and together they ran from the woods. When they were in clear grounds they stopped and Jason immediately grabbed Marie in his arms and held her as tightly as he could. He felt her shaking uncontrollably against his chest and it made him want to run back into the woods and punish James once and for all. He'd never seen her so distraught.

"Are you okay?" He asked, but Marie didn't respond, she just cried. As he stood there holding her, he saw his brothers running towards him. "It's alright, I've got her." He yelled to them.

When they got to him both were shocked by the state he was in, with blood dripping from various cuts and his face covered in bruises. Then they saw Marie and both their hearts sank.

"What happened?" Nate asked, stunned.

"I'll tell you later. All you need to know is that James is in that woods and he's dangerous. Tell Brown and then go back to the others and make sure they're safe. I'm going to take Marie to our cabin to calm down for a bit." Jason though it was unlikely Marie would want anyone else to see her like this. The others agreed to leave them and Jason lifted Marie into his arms and back to his cabin, swearing to himself that he would never let her be in danger again.

_CR-CR-CR_

Eliza sat down, relieved. Nate and Shane had just returned, informing the others that Jason had Marie and they were both safe.

"So everything's alright?" Eliza asked, assuming that as her sister had been found, nothing was wrong.

"Not exactly." Nate paused, unsure how to explain the state they'd seen Marie in without causing too much alarm, when he himself didn't know exactly what was going on.

"What do you mean?" Mitchie asked from her comfortable position in Shane's arms.

"When we found her and Jason, she was really upset and Jason didn't look in a great state either." Nate explained.

"Jason knew exactly where James was too." Shane continued. To him it only made sense to tell them everything.

"He got to her." Eliza said, realising what her brothers were trying to say.

"She looked alright though. Whatever James was trying to do, Jason got there in time to stop it."

Eliza wanted to go to the guys cabin, to thank Jason and make sure they were both okay. But the others (and the rather large security guard outside) wouldn't let her, believing it to be unsafe to leave until they knew James was caught. Nate assured Eliza that Jason had promised to bring Marie back as soon as she'd calmed down.

_CR-CR-CR_

"How are you feeling?" Jason asked as he handed Marie a glass of water. She was shaking less, but had yet to say anything. Jason knew what he'd seen James doing in those woods. Though he doubted Marie would ever talk about it, he hoped she would at least tell him she was okay.

"My wrist hurts." She muttered, almost as if she hadn't said it out loud on purpose. Jason sat beside her, taking her wrist gently in his hand. He'd brought the first aid kit from the kitchen and proceeded to wrap a bandage around to swollen area to give it more support.

"That should make it a bit better until you can get it checked out in the morning." He would have suggested a trip to the hospital right then and there but he doubted he wanted to venture far in her current state.

Marie glanced around the room, almost as if she was waking from a trance. She turned to Jason, shocked by what she saw.

"You're face" She exclaimed, seeing the collection of bruises and cuts that covered him.

"It'll be fine. Ri, you've got to be honest with me, you understand? Just this once." He waited for her to nod, promising to be, before continuing, "Did he do anything to you? Anything he shouldn't have?" He wanted to be certain he'd saved her in time. If he hadn't, he was certain James wouldn't make it through the night.

Marie slowly shook her head, surprised she could say no. She'd been certain she had no escape and never thought she would be able to thank Jason or repay him for saving her.

Jason gave her a moment to calm down, watching as she slowly sipped at the water. Eventually he decided to ask another question.

"Why were you out so late?" He was prepared to be blamed, for her to tell him everything was his fault, he had already accepted that. But he wanted her to tell him, to call him out on his actions. Maybe it wasn't the best time to ask, but Jason sensed it would be the one time she'd be completely honest.

"I wanted to get away." Marie shrugged, not even sure herself anymore why running away had seemed the best idea. "I was upset and no one would leave me alone. I just wanted to sort through my thoughts and I thought going off on my own would help me do that. I wasn't exactly expecting _him_ to turn up." The bitterness and anger at how she said 'him' actually scared Jason.

"You could have come here if you wanted to get away from the girls. Nate, Shane and I have had plenty of times we wanted to be alone when unhappy, we'd understand." He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, trying to be comforting, but she shrugged out of it, turning to glare at him, remembering what had happened earlier that day.

"So what, you leave me in the woods because I'm not good enough but then expect me to come to you when I'm upset. So you can what, just turn your back on me again. Why should I talk to you if you can't be bothered to do the same to me? You have plenty of other people, people you'd always choose as better than me. Where is Peggy anyway?" She hadn't meant to sound as unreasonable and harsh but all the emotions from the night were catching up with her. Jason knew it was to be expected that she'd be angry, but he hadn't expected her to think he believed Peggy was better than her. He sighed, deciding to tell her why he'd run off so suddenly.

"I'm sorry I left. I should have stayed and talked to you, told you what was going on. You want to know why I left you so suddenly?" He couldn't look at her as he said the words, he didn't want to see her reaction. "I realised I was fooling myself with Peggy. I left so I could go break up with her. We're over."

"You're an idiot." Marie replied bluntly. That was not the reaction Jason had even considered would occur. He never seemed able to do the right thing.

"No I'm not." He said, trying to defend his actions. "Marie there's something you need to know." He wanted to tell her everything, then maybe she'd give him another chance, she'd realise he never moved on.

"What?" Marie asked, but she refused to look at him, finding the ground far more interesting.

"Will you look at me?" He wanted to say this to her face, but she refused to move her gaze. Jason moved so he was kneeling in front of her. "Just this once, please." She heard the desperation in his voice and it caught her attention. Her intrigue got the better of her and she glanced up, accidentally catching his eye line. Their eyes locked and she felt a flutter she wished would disappear.

"I'm not an idiot because I was putting a mistake right. You see Marie, thing is, I never had feelings for Peggy, ever." And then at the last minute he chickened out of telling her the truth of the past, deciding instead to stick to telling her how he felt right then and there. "It wasn't Peggy I fell for after two months on a tour or Peggy I never stopped thinking about, no matter how far away she was. Thing is Marie, I never stopped loving you. Ri, you have a firm grip on my heart and I don't want you to let go." He didn't know what made him blurt it all out, but he felt like it was right as the words left his mouth. "Marie Austen, I love you."

He raised his hand and brushed some hair away from her face. The electricity stung his fingers and he decided to take another risk. It was almost as if he brain stopped thinking and his heart took over. Keeping their eyes locked he leant in slowly and was surprised to find Marie doing the same. Almost in sync their eyes fluttered closed and their lips met in a sweet, simple soft kiss. Their first kiss.


	22. Requests and Regrets

Chapter 22: Regrets and Requests

_Previously: Almost in sync their eyes fluttered closed and their lips met in a sweet, simple soft kiss. Their first kiss._

Marie pulled back abruptly, her expression becoming detached and distant once more.

"I think I want to go back to my cabin now." She muttered.

Jason didn't know how to react, or what else to do, so he got to his feet, helped Marie to hers and then escorted her back to the comfort and safety of her cabin and their friends.

_CR-CR-CR_

Apart from a brief visit to the medical centre, where a doctor informed her that her wrist was only mildly sprained and would heal fully in the space of a few weeks, Marie stayed in the cabin for the next day, barely moving from her bed. Jason had informed Eliza of what happened in the woods, after which she had refused to move from her sister's side, asking Nate to cover her classes for the day. The sister's grew close once more and eventually Marie told Eliza the full story, including the incident between her and Jason, though she refused to elaborate on how she felt about it, purely stating 'it happened'.

Security was charged with remaining outside their cabins at all times, especially at night, after it was discovered James had escaped the woods and was still on the loose somewhere in the local area. Brown expected he'd make another attempt to get to the Austens in the next few days and so advised the group to never go out alone, especially at night.

Two days later Marie was growing bored of the cabin and after some persuasion she agreed to go back to class, though she almost backed out when she realised her first class of the day was with Peggy, who she hadn't seen since Jason and her split.

She stood outside the door, apprehensively waiting for her guitar mentor to arrive. She knew this would probably be the most awkward session yet, that was if Peggy actually turned up. After all, not only was she the reason for her teacher's break up, she'd also kissed her ex hours after they broke up.

"You coming in?" Peggy asked, approaching Marie from behind. She was slightly disappointed to see her student had actually turned up. She'd been hoping she wouldn't have to face the young Austen yet.

Marie was unsure whether Peggy sounded care free or completely uncomfortable but she followed her into the cabin none the less, deciding the sooner the lesson started, the sooner it would end.

As Marie adjusted her guitar, testing her wrist to see how much playing was going to hurt (the pain wasn't unbearable), Peggy adjusted some of the items on her desk nervously, trying to ignore the rather uncomfortable silence forming between them. She found herself more worried about talking to the girl she blamed for her broken heart than about the fact she had to take to the Beach Jam stage with a rather unrehearsed song later that night.

"How's your Final Jam song coming along?" Peggy asked as a way to start the lesson. They'd found that Marie had such a natural ability at guitar (not unlike her sister) that Peggy was quickly running out of things to teach her. A few lessons ago they had agreed to move the focus onto particular songs, with Peggy helping Marie compose her Final Jam piece.

"I haven't really had a chance to move it forward very much. I think I might have finished the chorus though. Eliza helped me with the lyrics the other day and I quite liked it. Do you think you could tell me if the guitar part sounds okay?" Marie replied, hopeful that asking Peggy for help would win her round, at least a little bit, so they could get through the lessons bearably.

"Play it and we'll see." Peggy said, a little harsher than she'd meant to. She listened as Marie played and had to admit she was impressed by how well the seventeen year old played, even with an injured wrist. But while she listened, Peggy found herself focussing on the lyrics by accident. Lyrics she'd help write, without truly understanding the meaning behind them. Peggy turned back to her desk and shuffled through a few more papers, until a photo dropped out. It was a photo of her, stood on the top of her apartment building in New York, Jason behind her pulling a ridiculous face while he held her in his arms.

Everything got to her all at once. She couldn't keep pretending she was okay. She grabbed her jacket and turned to Marie, who had finished playing.

"I can't do this." She stated, but more than sounding angry or annoyed, she seemed like she wanted to laugh. Laugh at the fact she'd spent a large proportion of her summer teaching Marie to write a song that told _her_ boyfriend how in love with him Marie was.

As she pulled the door open Peggy stopped, deciding to give Marie some advice she felt was much needed.

"Don't push him away again." She instructed, "He needs you as much as you need him."

_CR-CR-CR _

No one saw Peggy after that. They could only assume they would see her at Beach Jam that evening.

The sun was setting and campers were gathering ready for the penultimate Jam of the summer.

"Marie, listen to me." Shane was trying to persuade her to go with them to the beach, but Marie kept insisting it wasn't safe and that she was too scared. "You'll be safer down there with us where we can all protect you, than you will be up here alone with no-one to look out for you."

Usually Shane wouldn't be so determined to get someone to do something they didn't want to do, but with James still on the loose, Shane didn't want the girl he saw as a little sister, put at risk again.

"I'm scared Shane." It was the first time she had admitted it to anyone but Eliza and she didn't only mean about James. She and Jason hadn't seen each other since the incident, in fact it almost seemed like Jason was hiding from her. If she was honest, she was too scared to face him.

"We aren't performing tonight, so I'll make you a promise." Shane said, "I'll stay with you at all times unless you tell me not to. I won't let you be alone. Just please come spend that evening with us. Beach Jam was always my favourite and I know you'll regret it later if you don't come now."

Reluctantly, Marie agreed and together they wandered down to join the others at the beach. Shane kept his promise. From the moment they left the cabin Shane acted like her shadow, until they found his younger brother.

Beach Jam was well underway when Nate eventually found Marie within the crowd. Knowing the next performances were by first year campers and that they wouldn't be missing much, Nate led Marie from the crowd, making sure to position themselves somewhere they could see all around for security.

"I was talking to Eliza earlier." He explained. His sister had come to him that morning, asking for a favour he was more than happy to fulfil. "I know you're parents are making you move to Philadelphia and she can't persuade them to let you stay with her because they claim there's no real reason for you to."

Marie shrugged. She hadn't really spoken to Eliza about what the end of Camp Rock meant to their family, she'd just assumed Eliza had asked, her parents had said no and that was the end of it.

"What if I told you I may have a proposition for you?" A smile broke out on Marie's face but Nate stopped her before she got too excited. "You've gotta really think about this and what saying yes will mean, so I'm not going to let you make a decision for a few days."

"Okay." Marie said a little uncertainly, "What are you suggesting?" She was hopeful Nate would have a solution, but she knew her parents were determined to leave California for good and she doubted his pop star power would work this time.

"I'm guessing the others told you that Andy Green's career is being launched properly next week?" Marie nodded, well aware of the plan for Final Jam, "Well, I happen to know he's looking for a new assistant to help him out, starting a few weeks after we leave this place." Nate almost laughed at the broad smile Marie now had. "The assistant would have to work by his side most of the time, helping out with press events, accompanying him to shows, being there for him when he wants to moan about his crazy family. And he needs someone he can trust to know everything about him. I thought since you had fun helping out on our tour before, it might be a job you're interested in?"

Marie was about to nod enthusiastically when she thought about how he had told her to think things through. She wanted to prove she was taking it seriously.

"Would it be work experience or an actual job?" Marie asked, causing Nate to chuckle.

"Obviously it would be a paid job, I mean Andy Green really isn't an easy guy to get on with so payment is only fair." He joked

"I coped with you, I'm sure he'll be no challenge at all." Marie teased.

"Mean!" Nate replied, glad to see his friend looking happier than she had done in days. "Thing is, for the job you have to live near to his main place of work. Your sister's house would be the perfect location, but Philly wouldn't."Nate continued, purely to show Marie how he could persuade her parents. "And I heard that Andy still has another year until he's done with education so you could always have lessons with him and his tutor so you don't miss out on learning all that important maths and English stuff. Anyway, give it a thought and let me know when you've made a decision."

Marie flung her arms around him. She couldn't believe what Nate was offering her. A chance to stay in the city she loved, live with her sister, have a paid job and get to work with one of her best friends. Not only that, but she wouldn't have to go to an actual school anymore. She couldn't think of anything better. She would have said yes instantly but Nate was right, there were other things to consider. Like having to live hundreds of miles from her parents at only seventeen. And if she was always with Nate then the press would be around and there'd be more rumours - was she ready for that? And could she even do the job he was asking her to do?

"When do I need to let you know by?" She asked.

"Whenever you're certain about your decision." Nate replied, "But before Final Jam if possible. That gave her a week and a half to think it all through. "Come on, let's get back to the others, I think Peggy's on next." The two of them returned to the midst of the crowd as Dee came on stage to introduce the final act of the night.

"She is Camp Rock's reigning Final Jam champion. Here to give you a special preview of her brand new single 'Enchanted' is Margaret Dupree!" The lights faded to a spot and Peggy climbed on stage, guitar in hand, to take her place centre stage.

"This is a song I wrote here at Camp over the last few days. Enjoy."

Marie didn't know what to expect. It was clear Peggy was still upset. If Marie wasn't mistaken she could see tears sparkling in Peggy's eyes as she played. Marie wanted to try and make things right between them.

_There I was again tonight_

_Forcing laughter, faking smiles_

_Same old tired, lonely place._

_Walls of insincerity, shifting walls and vacancy_

_Vanished when I saw your face_

_All I can say is it was_

_Enchanting to meet you._

After storming out of her lesson with Marie, Peggy had found herself suddenly very inspired, the lyrics flowed naturally from her and within a few hours she had a song that she could sing truthfully, as Eliza had always advised her to do. Sitting on stage in the centre of the lights, Peggy felt powerful and in charge. No one was going to tell her what to do anymore, she was in control.

_You're eyes whispered have we met_

_Across the room your silhouette_

_Starts to make its way to me_

_The playful conversation starts_

_Counter all your quick remarks_

_Like passing notes in secrecy_

_And it was enchanting to meet you_

_All I can say is I was enchanted to meet you_

The stage filled with light, Peggy stood and the song picked up pace as the chorus came around, causing the audience to scream in delight, another hit clearly in the making.

_This night is sparkling_

_Don't you let it go_

_I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way hone_

_I'll spend forever wondering if you know_

_I was enchanted to meet you_

_The lingering question kept me up_

_2am who do you love?_

_Wonder 'til I'm wide awake. _

The number of times Peggy had gone through sleepless nights knowing she was fooling herself, knowing it was all a lie, while Jason's mind and heart lay elsewhere. And whilst the press reported Jason's actions as him missing his girlfriend, Peggy always knew who he really missed.

_Now I'm pacing back and forth_

_Wishing you were at my door_

_I'd open up and you would say_

_It was enchanting to meet you_

_All I know is I was enchanted to meet you_

_This night is sparkling_

_Don't you let it go_

_I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home_

_I'll spend forever_

_Wondering if you knew_

_This night is flawless_

_Don't you let it go_

_I'm wonderstruck_

_Dancing around all alone_

_I'll spend forever wondering if you knew_

_I was enchanted to meet you._

"I'll be right back." Marie whispered to Nate. She wanted to catch Peggy after the show, to have a chance to talk to her before it was too late. Marie knew the song was true to how Peggy felt and it made her even more guilty. People couldn't help who they loved, but they could stop others getting hurt as a result.

_This is me praying that_

_This was the very first page_

_Not where the storyline ends_

_My thoughts will echo your name_

_Until I see you again_

_These are the words I held back_

_As I was leaving too soon_

_I was enchanted to meet you_

Tears fell from Peggy's eyes as she sang the words which had inspired the whole song and which she had said in her mind many times before.

_Please don't be in love with someone else_

_Please don't have somebody waiting on you_

She loved Jason, but he wasn't hers to love

_Please don't be in love with someone else_

_Please don't have somebody waiting on you._

_This night is sparkling_

_Don't you let it go_

_I'm wonderstruck_

_Dancing around all alone_

_I'll spend forever _

_Wondering if you knew_

_I was enchanted to meet you._

_Please don't be in love with someone else_

_Please don't have somebody waiting on you. _

The song drew to a close, the crowd gave her a standing ovation and Peggy thanked them before disappearing offstage having given her best performance ever.


	23. Apologies and Advice

**Chapter 23: Apologies and Advice**

"Peggy?" She froze, not wanting to seem even ruder than she had earlier that day but also not sure she could face the person who the voice belonged to. "That song was amazing and..." the girl paused, clearly feeling awkward. "I'm sorry." That was unexpected and left Peggy feeling all kinds of guilt. At the end of the day she knew none of it was Marie's fault, no matter how jealous of her she was. "Do you have a minute to talk?" She didn't want to, but Peggy agreed, knowing it was the right thing to do.

"I shouldn't have left the lesson like that." Peggy admitted, trying to clear the awkward silence,

"I understood." Marie replied. Now they had the chance to talk, Marie didn't know what to say.

"It's just..." Peggy sighed before admitting the worst thing about the whole situation for her, "It was always you, even when you barely spoke or saw each other for months, you were always on his mind. You had some sort of power over him and do you know what that is? It's love. Listen, Jason's had some pretty rough times over the years since Connect 3 got signed, a lot of things have happened that I'm not even sure his brothers know about. If for once he could have the one thing he wants more than anything in the world then I definitely don't want to get in the way. You could both have what you want, but you have to show him you want it Marie."

"Then help me." Marie replied. Peggy's words convinced Marie of what she wanted, "I'm not writing my final jam song to impress the crowd, I don't care about winning or a career. All I want to do is show Jason how I feel through the one medium I know he understands. I know it's a lot to ask in the current circumstances but you're the best guitarist at this camp, you've taught me so much this summer and I would really love to finish the song with your help."

Peggy didn't know what to do. Yes she was mad at the situation, she was sad Jason hadn't wanted her, but at the same time Jason was her friend and she wanted him to be happy. So, reluctantly, she agreed to resume her role as teacher.

After their talk, Marie and Peggy rejoined the others. Beach Jam was over and Shane had been right. Marie knew it was one night of the summer she wouldn't forget. As they walked back, Marie looked around for Jason. She hadn't seen him since they kissed, it was starting to worry her.

_CR-CR-CR_

Jason hadn't been able to stop staring at Marie. Since their kiss the other night she had been the only thing on his mind. But after the way she reacted, he found himself too scared to go and ask her where things stood between them. He felt jealous as he saw Nate and her share a hug, even though he knew it meant nothing. All he wanted was to hold her in his arms, yet he couldn't even bring himself to talk to her.

Then, to make things worse, Peggy took to the stage. Hearing her lyrics was too much for him. His two best friends were avoiding him and he felt so lost, knowing it was his fault. Camp Rock used to be a place of dreams for him. Now it just seemed like a nightmare.

He stayed until the end of the song then left. He knew his friends would kill him for it after Brown's warning, but right then he didn't care. He walked away, wanting nothing more than to curl up in bed and end this awful day.

_CR-CR-CR_

"I don't get what's going on with him." Eliza said, concerned about her twin, as she walked towards his cabin with her brothers. On their walk back she'd gotten a text from him saying he'd gone back to the cabin and not to worry. That, of course, made Eliza worry and she insisted Shane and Nate walk her to their cabin so she could confront Jason about what was going on.

"He's probably just stressed." Shane suggested, "He gets like this sometimes."

Eliza was doubtful that was the full explanation. She expected it had something to do with Marie, though she didn't believe that was the only thing going on.

They entered the cabin to find it in complete darkness, with Jason covered by his duvet.

"He's asleep; maybe you should wait and talk to him in the morning?" Nate suggested, knowing that waking a grumpy Grey was not a wise action.

"Just give me a minute, okay?" Eliza asked and then cautiously approached the side of Jason's bed before yelling, "Jason, get up, I know you're not really asleep!" Slowly Jason rolled over but kept his eyes closed. From under the duvet they heard his voice.

"How'd you know?"

"I'm you're twin, I can tell when you're pulling my own tricks on me." Jason groaned, unimpressed that his technique for getting out of things no longer worked with Eliza around. Eliza turned to her brothers. "Do you think you could give us a bit of time to talk?" She felt bad kicking them out of their own cabin, but it was necessary if any of this was to be solved quickly. Shane and Nate agreed to leave but insisted they tell her when she wanted to go back to her cabin, no walking back alone. She promised she would and with that, they left the twins alone.

"So what's going on?" She asked, taking a seat on the end of Jason's bed as he sat up, knowing that he had no choice but to talk to her.

"What do you mean?" Jason replied, hoping he may be able to avoid the inevitable.

"You know what I mean." Jason refused to talk, he just stared at his duvet, his lips sealed. Eliza sighed, knowing that as he was so like her, the silent treatment could go on for a while. "It's not normal for you to suddenly turn grumpy, dump your girlfriend and go storming off when we've been told to stick together for our own safety." No response came so Eliza pulled out the big guns, "let alone kissing my sister out of the blue." Jason's head shot up in shock.

"She told you?" Eliza nodded in confirmation, "I didn't mean to it's just... it's been a bad week."

"Why?" Eliza prompted, hoping to get somewhere.

"Because I love her." Jason admitted, misinterpreting the question.

"I meant why has it been a bad week?" Eliza replied, a broad smile on her face having heard him finally admit his feelings.

"Oh." Jason couldn't help blushing in embarrassment. "It's a long story."

"I've got time."

"You sure?" Eliza nodded, settling herself into a comfier position.

And so Jason went on to explain the entire situation, how he'd thought Marie had moved on from him by dating Flynn, the fact that that lead him to agree to date Peggy, thinking there was no chance for him and Marie. He told Eliza how he just kept feeling worse as Camp Rock went on, especially when he and Marie were becoming close again, yet he was still with Peggy. Eventually he reached the end of the story, explaining that Nate's revelation made him realise he had to stop lying to everyone about where his feelings lay and how that was the reason for his break up and other actions.

"I haven't told the others that it was all fake yet." He admitted as he finished. To say Eliza was surprised by all her twin had just revealed would be an understatement. Instead of saying anything, she moved along the bed, engulfing him in the biggest hug she could.

"They aren't going to care, as long as you're now going to do what makes you happy." She whispered comfortingly.

"That's not the only decision I made that night." Jason continued a few minutes later. He and his brothers had agreed the girls could be told once Brown knew, so he didn't see the harm in telling his sister first. "Connect 3 are splitting up." Eliza hadn't seen that coming. "I'm so tired of being told what to do, how to act, who to date. I don't think my heart is even in playing music anymore. I want a chance to have my own life and, as harsh as this sounds, I'm bored of being 'Nate and Shane's brother'. I want to be my own person."

Eliza had never heard Jason sound so grown up. She had to admit that she'd noticed that Jason hadn't really enjoyed the last tour but she would never have expected him to be the one to call time on the band.

"Do you know what you want to do instead?" She asked.

"I've really enjoyed working with the junior rockers, so maybe something to do with kids? It's not like I urgently need a new job, so I've got time to figure it out." Jason hadn't really given much thought to what he would do once Connect 3 ended. There was really only one thing he wanted to achieve and he realised that to do it, he would probably need Eliza's help.

"Would you help me with something?" He asked. He was aware Eliza knew Marie better than anyone else did, so hoped she could help him win her heart.

"Depends what it is?" Eliza said jokingly, willing to help him out no matter what.

"I want to show Marie how I really feel, make her know that I love her and that she's the most important thing in my life." It was the first time he had ever said those words out loud and while it felt odd finally admitting it, it also felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "Can you help me show her, without her running away again?"

Eliza pulled Jason in for another hug. She knew that is had taken a long time but now she had heard them both admit their feelings for each other, she was determined to get them together so they could have the happiness they deserved. She promised Jason she would do everything she could.

"Do you want me to walk you back to your cabin now?" It was getting late and he assumed his sister would want to get some sleep.

"Actually," Eliza started. Jason had admitted so much to her tonight that it made her want to be truthful about what she had been up to. If one person knew then it wasn't as bad as hiding it from everyone. "There's something I was wondering if you could help me with too." Jason was confused but allowed her to continue.

"You remember after the first tour we all agreed to not talk to your parents because of what they did?" Jason nodded, "I kind of broke our agreement. I know that's wrong of me Jase but they're my birth parents and I'd already missed out on twenty one years of knowing them and then Denise called and I got the chance to hear their side of the story and get to know them. After that first call I kept speaking to them every week or so." Jason didn't respond, he just waited for her to continue. "And I feel bad because you all hated them so much and cut them out of your lives all because I came along. I hated that you weren't speaking. So I told them about final jam and how you would all be there and I sent them tickets."

"Nate and Shane are going to kill you." Jason interrupted. His brothers always used to hate their parents turning up to shows. Given the current circumstances, that would only be escalated.

"I know, I know, but they want to see you, to make up for everything, to apologise and I thought if we could all just be in the same room then we could sort everything out and finally have our family all together. I know it's a lot to ask but if you, Nate and Shane could just give them a chance then this could be resolved."

Jason was dubious. He doubted his brother would hang around once they realised their parents had turned up and he knew that he himself would want to be as far away as possible if given a choice, but he saw the desperate tone in Eliza's voice as she tried to get the family she belonged to together for the first time in her life. There had been so many issues over the past year, the idea of everything being resolved really did appeal to him.

"I'll do what I can." He promised, "But please don't get your hopes up, it may not come to anything and for all we know, mum and dad may not even bother coming." He wanted her prepared for the worst. He'd learnt over the years to expect disappointment from people he trusted.

After walking Eliza back and meeting his brothers to return to their cabin, Jason climbed into bed in a much better mood than he had earlier that night and with his brain filled with ideas on how to help Eliza achieve what she wanted.

**AN: I'm going to get another chapter up asap, I promise! We're getting close to the end now. **


	24. Sometimes Forgiveness Is Deserved

Chapter 25: Sometimes Forgiveness Is Deserved

The penultimate week of Camp Rock passed in a blur as everyone prepared for Final Jam.

Alexandra sat in the rehearsal cabin, she'd come there alone in an attempt to get some extra practise in. She wanted to win the competition more than anything she had ever wanted before and was certain that if she pushed herself hard this week she could achieve what she dreamed of. But with a single ring of her phone all her confidence faded away. She knew who would be on the line.

"Hi dad... Yes, I'm rehearsing now..." She hated these calls, avoiding them whenever she was sure she could get away with it. "She got the lead? Great." She tried, and failed, to hide the sarcasm in her voice, but her dad was oblivious, too busy going on about Alice.

Alice was Alexandra's sister. Not only that, she was a Broadway actress and a very successful one at that, a fact Alex's father never let Alex forget. What made it worse was that Alice was a year younger than her. Being only seventeen and having achieved so much more than her older sister, left their parents to view Alex as a failure.

She sat, missing out on what she viewed as valuable rehearsal time, listening to her father rant on about how amazing Alice was and how disappointing she was.

"We've managed to just about clear our diaries enough to make it to your final show at the weekend. We expect a good performance; we don't want to be wasting our evening." That made Alex's blood run cold. She'd tried her best to keep Final Jam a secret so she could avoid parental pressure, she should have known Melissa and her family would be promoting the event.

"I'm sure you will have an enjoyable evening." She had one last hope; they often dropped out of events she was involved in. Normally that would annoy her but if it happened this time she would be nothing but happy.

"I doubt it." She wasn't sure she was supposed to hear that but her father spoke too loudly. "As for our plans for you after camp, I've spoken to the boarding school..." Alex tuned out, knowing she wouldn't have a choice in whatever her father was saying, she just made sure to agree each time her father paused, awaiting a response. Behind her, the door to the cabin swung open and neither person in the room realised anyone else was around.

Marie had her Ipod on loud, listening to the tune to her song which Caitlyn had helped her record for singing practise. She'd lost herself on the music as she walked in the cabin, early for her daily rehearsal with Peggy. It was only when she heard someone yelling that she froze, realising she wasn't alone.

"Thanks for making me feel like a complete and utter waste of space. It's not my fault and if you ever bothered to listen to me you'd know that. But _no_, you're too busy focussing on what Alice is doing and how great she is. I'd be happier if you just got out of my life and I never had to see you again you complete and utter..."

In her frustration Alex cut herself off, spinning around and flinging her phone across the room

Marie ducked just in time, allowing the phone to fly into the wall behind her.

"How long have you been there?" Alexandra asked, suddenly realising the other girl's presence in the cabin.

"Not that long, though from I heard I'm guessing someone's annoyed you?" Marie said, attempting to be sympathetic whilst unsure how Alex would react to being overheard.

"It's nothing, just family stuff." Alex replied as Marie handed back her phone which, despite its contact with the wall, was unscathed.

"I get what it's like you know." Alexandra scoffed as Marie tried to empathise with her, "People assume that because me and Eliza are close, we're one big happy family with no issues." Marie took a seat, Alex quickly following suit.

"What, are you saying you're not?" Alex questioned.

"Sometimes we are. But I can't even begin to tell you how many times people have compared us, asking why I haven't achieved anything yet when Eliza was already starting to make a name for herself at my age."Marie explained. It was something she'd only every spoken to Nate about, but sitting in that cabin, Marie felt that maybe showing Alex that there were other people in similar situations would make things seem better. "I know how frustrating it can be to have a successful sibling you're compared to."

"I just want to prove to everyone, especially my family, that I'm just as good. But it's hard to make them see it." Alexandra admitted. The vulnerability and sadness in her voice made Marie want to reach out and comfort her but after their summer of bitterness, she remained cautious.

"Then prove it at Final Jam, perform your heart out and prove to everyone that you deserve attention." Alexandra almost laughed at how easy Marie made it sound. "And if they don't turn up, then they're missing out." Alexandra stood and walked to the other side of the room, taking in what Marie was saying. "I've seen you perform." Marie stated, remembering the numerous appearances she had made all summer. "You've got a lot of talent; I doubt anyone here can deny that."

"I should get out of here, I'm guessing you're here to rehearse." Alex made to leave and then paused, deciding to take a chance. "Will you give me a hand? Could I show you my song and see what you think?" She was well aware of the two months Marie had spent with a professional show and assumed that if any of the campers would know what record labels were looking forward, Marie would.

Knowing Peggy wouldn't be arriving for another ten minutes, Marie agreed , interested to see what style Alex was going for. She made herself comfortable as Alexandra took the stage, already set up for her performance.

"There's still a few days of rehearsals to go so it will be better on the night." Alex made her excuses before turning on the backing track and moving to her starting position.

_Don't hold your breath_

_You can't touch me now_

_There's no feeling left_

_If you think I'm coming back_

_Don't hold your breath_

_What you did to me_

_Boy I can't forget_

_If you think I'm coming back_

_Don't hold your breath _

_I was under your spell for so long_

_Couldn't break the chains_

_You played with my heart_

_Tore me apart_

_With all your lies and games_

_It took all the strength I had_

_But I crawled up on my feet again_

_Now you're trying to lure me back_

_But know those days are gone my friend_

The song was an upbeat dance number, the type Marie knew would appeal to many people. She watched as Alexandra sang out the lyrics with a powerful voice full of emotion, whilst completing a reasonably complicated dance routine.

_I loved you so much_

_That I thought someday that you could change_

_But all you gave me was a heart full of pain_

_You can't touch me now_

_There's no feeling left_

_If you think I'm coming back_

_Don't hold your breath_

_What you do to me_

_Boy I can't forget_

_If you think I'm coming back_

_Don't hold your breath_

The message behind the lyrics was clear in Marie's opinion. So often songs talked about people being truly in love and staying together forever, or they were about how heartbroken someone was after a break up. There was bitterness and anger within Alexandra's words, a story obviously behind them, and the determination Alex displayed whilst performing enhanced the meaning of it.

_I was worried about you_

_But you never cared about me none_

_You took all my money _

_And I know that you_

_You could kill someone_

_I gave you everything _

_But nothing was ever enough_

_You were always jealous over such crazy stuff_

_You can't touch me now_

_There's no feeling left_

_If you think I'm coming back_

_Don't hold your breath_

_What you did to me_

_Boy I can't forget_

_If you think I'm coming back_

_Don't hold your breath_

The beat slowed for a moment, Alexandra took the central position on the stage and Marie could imagine a spotlight shining over her, creating extra drama for this section of the song

_Move on_

_Don't look back_

_Jumped off a train_

_Running off the tracks_

_Love is gone_

_Face the facts_

_A bad movie ends_

_And the screen fades to black_

_What you did to me_

_Boy I can't forget_

_If you think I'm coming back_

Alex returned to the chorus, repeating it twice before coming to an end, her routine perfectly timed to the fade out of the music.

"So?"

Marie was stunned by the work Alexandra had put in, so much so it made her feel guilty that her own performance was going to stay simplistic. She advised Alexandra to remember that if her vocals weren't at their best on the night, the rest of her performance wouldn't matter. She explained her belief that if Alex focused on her voice for a few hours a day then she'd be a very tough act to beat come the Jam.

As Alex packed up her things, Marie couldn't help but feel that her fellow camper just needed to be given one chance then she would have a hugely successful career. Nate was always saying people usually needed help up only one step to achieve their potential.

By the time Peggy arrived for rehearsal, Marie had already devised a plan to give Alexandra her chance.

**AN: I finished writing the story! That's right, it's completely finished and so over the next few days every chapter will be posted. It all depends on how long it takes me to write up (it is over 100 pages to type so bare with me) but soon you will all see how it resolves! Anyway, to spur me on typing this all up, please leave me a review and let me know what you think. **

**The song in this chapter was: Don't Hold Your Breath by Nicole Scherzinger**


	25. Favours Asked Of Friends

Chapter 25: Favours Asked Of Friends

"I need to ask you a favour." Marie blurted out as soon as she found Nate later that evening. She'd been trying to make her mind up about his job offer (when she wasn't focused on the fact that James was still out there, or that Jason was no longer talking to her or that in a few days time she would take to the stage to tell the latter that she loved him) and she finally knew her choice. But she'd decided to make it come with a favour.

"Woah, slow down there." Nate replied, slightly surprised by her waiting for him on his return from a meeting with his brothers and the record label, in which they'd discussed their future. His mind was still dealing with the outcome of that.

"Sorry it's just I've had something on my mind and I wanted to know what you thought." Marie explained, allowing Nate into his own teaching cabin. He flung his bag down and collapsed into the chair. "What's up with you?" Marie asked. She had to admit she'd never seen Nate look so tired.

"It's nothing," he replied, "just the label being difficult about letting us end our contract early, they're coming up with all these terms to try and stop us from splitting and while Shane and Jason just keep saying 'the decision has been made', I'm left trying to find a decent solution and I really don't know what to do." The words tumbled from his mouth without him even thinking about it and as he looked up and saw the shocked look on Marie's face he remembered they had yet to inform the girls of their decision.

"Connect 3 is splitting up?" Marie asked, stunned. She may be friends with the members of the band but at heart Marie was still a fan and had been since their first single was released. To think there would be no more music from them was almost heart breaking. "Why?"

Nate realised that this was the first time any form of fan had been told of the end and as he saw how much it saddened Marie, he found himself dreading the reaction when the official announcement was made.

"I want to focus on Andy Green, Shane wants a break so he can focus more time on Mitchie and Jason's just had enough." Nate admitted. "When Camp Rock ends, so will Connect 3. We're finishing where we started."

Marie was quiet for a moment, dealing with the fact that a band that had been a large part of her life would soon be gone. In an odd way it was like losing a close friend.

"Is Jason okay?" Marie asked the first question that came into her head.

"Honestly?" Marie nodded, "He will be, once he gets away from all this for a while."

"The others deserve to know."

"We were planning on telling you tonight; guess I let the cat out of the bag a bit soon." They were both quiet for a moment, thinking about the reaction that would occur that evening.

"At least Andy Green will get more attention." Marie said, trying to get a positive spin on things. "You won't have to feel guilty about taking time away from Connect 3 to tour. Actually, that's kind of why I'm here." She continued, getting back to her original reason for being in Nate's cabin.

"Yeah?" Nate asked; now ready to give her request his attention.

"As my first act as your personal assistant I would like to suggest Alexandra as your opening act. She'll be performing a great song at Final Jam. Make sure Roger takes notice and suggest to him he offers her the position for a one off show at least."

"You're first act as my assistant you say?" Nate said, computing what Marie had just said, "Does that mean you're taking the job?"

"Spoke to my parents last night and they eventually agreed so if it's still on offer I would love to work for you, Andy."

Nate flew from his chair and wrapped his arms around her, pleased to know that when he stepped out alone he would have a friend there to support him.

"I've got to ask, why Alexandra? I thought you and she hated each other?"

"A wise friend once told me that people always deserve a second chance." Marie explained, quoting what Nate had told her on one of their late night phone calls a few months earlier. "I spoke to her and it turns out we aren't quite as different as I thought." Nate was impressed. Despite all of the drama Alexandra had caused for her, Marie was prepared to move past it and even help her. "She doesn't need to open every show." Marie continued, well aware the label probably already had a plan for who the supporting act would be. "But if she was allowed to open just one show, it would give her the boost she needs."

Nate promised he would consider it and have a discussion with Roger but made Marie aware that it wouldn't be his decision. At the end of the day it would depend on the results of Final Jam and whether Alexandra proved that she was ready to face a large audience.

"Trust me." Using a once detested phrase, "She's ready."

_CR-CR-CR_

A while later Nate and Marie walked back to the girls' cabin to aid Jason and Shane in delivering the latest Connect 3 news. Mitchie and Caitlyn were saddened, as Marie has been, whilst Eliza acted as if she wasn't surprised.

Whilst Shane and Nate comforted their girlfriends, Marie pulled her sister outside to discuss her reaction.

"You already knew, didn't you?" Marie questioned.

"Jason told me a few days ago but I promised not to tell anyone until they had talked to the label, which turned out to take a little longer than they expected." Eliza explained, knowing Marie was probably wondering why she'd been kept in the dark.

"It's their lives, surely if they don't want to do it anymore, the label can't make them."

That was one of the things Eliza loved about her younger sister. Despite all she had seen and been through in her seventeen years, she still kept an innocent view on some aspects of life.

"They're bound into a pretty tight contract. Brown's trying to get them out of it by the end of the week so they can announce it. He's hoping to use Nate's alter ego as a bargaining tool but the label's being pretty resistant." Eliza explained.

"There has to be something we can do..." Marie paused, an idea flowing into her mind. "Wait here." She instructed her sister as she grabbed her phone and dialled a number.

_CR-CR-CR_

An hour later the sisters found themselves sat in Brown's office, passing Marie's phone over so Brown could talk to the person on the end of the line. As he listened to what was said he scanned through the Connect 3 contract, finding a passage as instructed and highlighting it, preparing for a meeting with the label execs in an hour's time.

As he reached the end of the document he thanked the man on the end of the line before hanging up and returning Marie's phone to her. Brown stood and instructed the two girls to return to their cabin, promising he would come find them to let them know the outcome.

His return came nearly ninety minutes later. The gang were still gathered in Marie and Caitlyn's cabin when his knock at the door made them all jump.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Brown apologised as he entered the cabin, "I just had some news I thought you'd want to hear." He went on to explain to his nephews that he'd had further discussions with the label. The looks on the Grey's faces showed they didn't have much hope.

"From the end of this week the future of Connect 3 is in your hands." Brown explained. As Shane tried to speak up, Brown stopped him, wanting to get a full explanation out first. "They would prefer it if you agreed to release a final single, perhaps an album, even if it would have to be with less press than normal, but they are now aware that they have no legal right to keep you at the label."

All at once the three band members responded:

"How?"

"Why?"

"Who?"

"I'll let Marie and Eliza explain." Brown said before slipping away from the cabin, leaving the girls to take the credit they deserved.

"Fynn's dad is a contract lawyer; we just got him to advise Brown." Marie explained, shrugging like it was no big deal.

"Thank you." It was the first time Jason had spoken to her since the night of James' attack.

"No problem." She couldn't think what else to say. The end of Jason's silence had caught her off guard.

When Marie climbed into bed that night, one thought came to mind. Summer was quickly coming to a close and if she was sure of one thing, she didn't want the next few months to be like those she had just been through. She wanted Jason in her life, along with the rest of their gang. No matter what she needed to do, she would fight to make things right between them before Final Jam.

**AN:**** I am currently on holiday and the internet is a bit come and go, however I will try to get another chapter up by Thursday! Please let me know what you think. **


	26. Tonight's The Night

Chapter 26: Tonight's The Night

"It's tonight!" Caitlyn squealed as she leapt from her bed with excitement about what the day would hold.

"Go back to sleep." Marie grumbled, rolling over and covering her head with her pillow.

"You can't sleep through today!" Caitlyn said, climbing onto Marie's bed and trying to shake her awake.

"I want to at least sleep until a normal person's time." Marie replied, chucking her alarm clock at Caitlyn, who got a bit of a shock when she realised it was five am. Sheepishly she climbed back into bed, attempting to drift back to sleep for a few hours.

Outside the sun rose as campers and instructors alike slowly awoke to the realisation that their final day of camp had arrived.

For some, this fact brought disappointment and sadness, the best summer of their lives was ending.

Mitchie stood by the lake, still her favourite spot on site. She didn't want to leave. This camp was a part of her, it had brought her and Shane together, twice, and allowed her to spend weeks with her friends and to learn from and teach some of the strongest, newest talent in the country. She knew she was incredibly lucky, but on this, the last day, she found herself wondering when, if ever, she would return here.

"Morning beautiful." She heard a very familiar voice whisper as Shane's arms wrapped around her waist, holding her close. "What's on your mind?" He'd seen the thoughtful look on her face as he approached her.

"I don't want to say goodbye to this place." She explained, leaning against him. Standing looking out over the lake with the man she love, Mitchie felt like everything was as perfect as it could ever be.

"Why are you saying goodbye?" Shane asked, pulling away and moving so she was looking at him.

"It's the last day of camp. After today summer will be over and we'll be back to work, busier than ever, with no guarantee that we'll ever be back here." As a few tears dropped down her cheeks at the thought of leaving a place filled with so many memories, Shane pulled her in for a hug.

"It's a good thing Brown just asked us both back as instructors next year then." Shane whispered to her. Instantly her head lifted, a broad smile on her face.

"Are you serious?" She was unable to believe what Shane had just revealed. Shane nodded. He hadn't particularly wanted to leave the place that meant more to him than anywhere else. So that morning he had gotten up and had an early meeting with his uncle, who was more than willing to offer the pair another summer of work.

"What about the label?" Mitchie asked, considering the other aspect that may prohibit their return.

"We'll find a way to persuade them I'm sure. If all else fails you can start acting like a jerk." Mitchie hit him round the head for that suggestion. "There's a start."

"Mean." She pouted jokingly. He gently kissed her on the top of her head, knowing how lucky he was to be able to hold her in his arms and tell her he loved her every day.

"Shall we go wake the others? It is the best day of camp after all." He took Mitchie's hand and led her across the camp to alert their friends that the final day had begun and it was time to rise and shine.

_CR-CR-CR_

"I am now officially nervous." Melissa stated as they all made their way to breakfast.

"You won't be by tonight I'm sure. Get on that stage and you'll feel nothing but adrenaline." Caitlyn reasoned, knowing only too well how it felt to take part in Final Jam.

"What's the plan for today?" Marie asked as she took a seat with her fellow campers. The instructors had all been called into a meeting with Brown to discuss their part in that evening's show, leaving the campers alone to enjoy breakfast. Marie looked down at her plate happily. If nothing else, Marie knew she would definitely miss the food at camp. Mitchie's mum was, without a doubt, a genius in the kitchen.

"I think we get most of the day free for rehearsals." Caitlyn explained from her knowledge of previous years.

"They've posted a rehearsal schedule outside." Baron explained as he and Sander joined the others, their plates piled as high as possible.

"I really can't believe it's all over for another year." Ella said sadly. For her, Camp Rock was like a second home.

"It's not over yet! We've still got all of today and tomorrow morning before we have to say goodbye." Though she'd been trying to cheer them all up, Melissa's comment led them to sit silently as they thought back through the summer.

"Marie." Whilst the other members of the table groaned, expecting another fight was bound to break out, Marie smiled knowing who was calling her.

"Hey Alex, ready for the competition?" Marie asked, turning to face her former enemy.

"Almost, I just wanted to say thank you for your advice. I think it's helped." To say the others around them were surprised by the friendly conversation would be putting it mildly.

"No worries, glad I could help."

Alexandra thanked her once more before wishing the others luck later that night and leaving them to their breakfast.

"Er... Marie, you do realise who you were just talking to, right?" Melissa asked, uncertain she could believe what she'd just witnessed.

"You're cousin, yeah." It sounded harsher than she'd had meant it to. "We talked things out and resolved everything, that's all. Don't worry, the world hasn't gone mad."

"Good morning campers!" Dee's voice interrupted their discussion as the instructors entered the mess hall, prepared for the day ahead. As Dee informed the campers of what they would be required to do before that night's performance, the missing members of their table joined them. With the announcements made, talk turned to who would win that night.

"Have you guys seen the list of entries yet?" Melissa asked the instructors amongst them, assuming, as everyone else had, that they would be the judges that night.

"Nope, we're not allowed to know the order until you all find out later." Mitchie explained.

"And before you all ask, none of us are judging this year so no," Shane looked deliberately at Baron and Sander, remembering last year, "you can't bribe us."

"If you're not judging then who is?" Ella asked, surprised but slightly relieved that her friends wouldn't be in charge of choosing the winner. She still hoped to win the competition, but knew that if she did so with her friends in charge of the decision, she would forever have people questioning whether she deserved it or was being given the win as a favour.

"You'll be told in good time." Shane said, knowing that if many people were told of Andy Green's presence too early, the pressure on his brother would be increased.

"You, Shane Grey, are mean." Sander complained, acting like a small child.

Whilst the others conversed, Jason sat feeling awkward. He had one purpose for today, yet he still wasn't sure how to make it happen. Liza had told him she had a plan but he didn't trust it would work.

"Right, we better get rehearsing." Baron said as he and Sander left the table to go find a room to rehearse in. One by one the table emptied until eventually only the main gang were left.

"This is possibly our last day together for a while. I know you need to practise, "Mitchie said, referring to Marie and the guys, "but do you reckon we can find some point in the day to gather together for a while?"

"Come on Mitch, we all thought the end of our first tour together would mean goodbye for a while and look how that turned out." Nate replied, trying to be encouraging.

As the others continued to talk, they missed the moment that passed between Marie and Jason. Their eyes met as they thought back to the last night of that tour and what happened in the months that followed. Seeing the look in her eyes, Jason decided the sooner he talked to Marie, the better. He hated feeling so far away from her when she was so close.

"Things might not be the same after camp ends, but that doesn't mean we'll be apart." Nate continued.

"I think it's a good idea Mitchie." Jason spoke up. He agreed to meet them all at the docks later, before excusing himself, explaining he had junior rockers to mentor for once last day.


	27. A Birdhouse Of Love

**AN: I think some of you are going to love me for this chapter!**

Chapter 27: A Birdhouse Of Love

"Mr Jason?" Annabel came up to him, a look of nerves on her face. Jason looked down at her, remembering back to his first year performing on the Final Jam stage, before his brothers had been able to attend camp with him. He'd been so nervous, but looking back he still thought of it as one of the best performances he'd ever done.

"What's up Annabel?" He asked, kneeling beside her.

"I'm scared about tonight." The young girl admitted.

"Why?" Throughout the summer Annabel had been the most confident of all of Jason's student. Out of all of them she was the one Jason had thought would be least likely to get stage fright. Annabel shrugged, unsure why she felt these nerves.

"Listen to me, okay, you're going to take to that stage tonight and wow the audience. You're so talented. But, no matter what, will you promise me something?" Annabel nodded and Jason continued. "Have fun tonight. You have all the time in the world to push yourself and compete, tonight just enjoy being on the stage." Annabel threw her arms around him, promising she would.

"Mr Jason?" Hector, one of the younger members of Jason's group, approached him, tugging on his sleeve. "We want to show you something." Jason allowed himself to be dragged to the centre of the room where his young students were gathered together.

"You've given us the best summer we could imagine." Elma, a confident blonde who Jason was sure would grow into one of the best singers in the world, spoke up. "We want to say thank you." The class parted to reveal something on the table hidden by a cloth.

"This is from all of us." Hector explained as Jason approached the gift.

"Miss Marie helped too." Elma added. Jason paused, surprised.

"Really?" He asked, uncertain he had heard correctly.

"We wanted to make something for you as a surprise but we needed an adult to help and Miss Marie was the only other adult we really knew." Hector explained.

"And I was more than happy to help." Jason spun round to find Marie standing at the door, a proud smile gracing her face. Jason was touched that not only would she do something for his kids but, despite everything over the last few weeks, she would do something for him.

"You going to open it then?" Marie asked, walking to his side whilst the junior rockers all waited with anticipation. It was odd to be standing beside him, acting as if nothing had happened between them, but Marie knew that if she wanted tonight to go as planned, this was the first step she needed to take.

Jason slowly lifted the fabric, revealing his mystery gift. As he realised what his students had made, he squealed in delight, causing laughter amongst those in the room.

"You guys are officially the coolest." He announced as he inspected his new guitar shaped birdhouse.

"I know you've been sent a lot of birdhouses by your fans," Marie explained, "but we all thought you needed an authentic Camp Rock one."

Jason turned so he was facing all of his junior rockers and, though he would deny it later on, tears came to his eyes.

"Group hug!" he yelled, pulling everyone in, including Marie, and squeezing them all tightly. If this summer had taught him one thing, it was that he had a way with children and he knew that no matter what career he ended up in, he wanted to be making kids happy.

A few moments later Dee arrived and instructed the junior rockers to follow her. Their parents had arrived and so Jason was forced to say a sorrow filled goodbye, knowing that when he saw them later that night at Final Jam, it would probably be the last time he ever saw them.

As the last youngster left the cabin, Jason became acutely aware that he was not alone. Marie stood in the corner watching as Jason started to pack everything away, pausing to admire his birdhouse once more.

"You're so good with them." Marie eventually spoke up, hoping to make conversation and avoid the awkwardness. "While we were making that they kept telling me over and over again that you're the best old person they'd ever met."

"I was rather fond of them too." Jason admitted, taking a seat as he reminisced about his summer. Slowly Marie moved across the room, taking a seat beside him. It was the closest they'd sat since the incident in Jason's cabin, yet neither felt uncomfortable.

"I'm glad you're here." Jason said. As her glanced over to Marie he noticed her blush. He thought back to all those hours they'd spent together on the tour, how close they'd become and all they had shared. "Do you remember the Empire State Building?" He asked, confusing Marie.

"You forced me up it despite my fear of heights." Marie answered, remembering their days in New York, which seemed so long ago now.

"I told you you'd regret it if you didn't go up." Jason stated.

"You were right, I would have done. I'm not so bad with heights now." Marie admitted, "Though I'll avoid them if I can."

They sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments, each thinking back through their memories. Gradually Marie moved closer to Jason until her head was leaning on his shoulder. He gently wrapped his arm around her, as he had done in all those various cities. For the first time in months they both suddenly felt everything was right between them. All the weeks of fighting, not talking and missing each other was forgotten as they both remembered why that tour had meant so much to them.

"That was when I realised." Jason admitted, "Up high, looking out over the city, you held my hand and trusted me to help you conquer a fear. I knew then."

"Knew what Jason?" Marie asked, looking up at him as he looked down at her. He brushed her fringe from her emerald green eyes, so vivid a colour they always captivated him.

"I knew then that it was you." He said, "It was always going to be you."

Blush grew deeper on Marie's cheeks as she realised what he was trying to say, what she had waiting so long to hear. Slowly she allowed herself to lean closer to him as his hand cupped her cheek.

But he stopped her. Mere inches apart they sat, eyes locked, both knowing what they wanted. Then Jason opened his lips and started to sing.

_I don't know how_

_I can do without_

_I just need you now_

As the words floated across the room he pulled her in and captured her in a breathtaking kiss, putting in all the passion and emotion that had been stored inside him since the night Nate interrupted them. He showed her how he really felt.

"Summer may be coming to an end," He said as they pulled apart, "but it doesn't mean we have to. Please Ri Ri," She hadn't heard that nickname in so long, it made her heart skip a beat, "give us a chance?"

She didn't need to answer; she just smiled and pulled him towards her, kissing him once more. This time it was soft and simple, but still left their hearts beating a million miles a minute.

"I love you Jase." It was a simple statement, but those words meant more to Jason than anything else. "I have to go rehearse." She continued sadly as she stood. "But I'll see you at the dock later, I promise." She gave him another peck on the lips before rushing through the door. She walked away happier than she could have ever dreamed of being.

**AN: Finally. What did you think? I wrote this after re-reading Who I Am and decided to make it re-capture the sense of that story. We're quickly coming to an end now and I would love to hear your thoughts!**


	28. Down By The Docks

Chapter 28: Down By The Docks

A few hours later Jason arrived at the docks to discover he was the first one to arrive. His afternoon had been peaceful, he'd only needed to attend a brief rehearsal with his brothers then had the rest of the afternoon off.

He sat on the edge of the dock, his feet dangling off the edge just skimming the water. To him it was hard to believe he would finally get the break he'd been hoping for all year. Connect 3 would be over, for a while at least. They were prepared for some backlash from their fans, but Jason knew that with Andy Green around, they wouldn't be too disappointed.

He thought about what the next few months could hold. He hoped he'd be able to spend time with Marie, though he knew she'd be busy with her new job. He wondered what else would happen. He wasn't desperate to start a new career, he'd spent the latter half of teens and his early twenties working, there had been many things he'd missed out on. Perhaps when Marie was off working with Nate he would travel, visiting places he had been many times before but never properly seen.

"What's got you so thoughtful?" A voice behind him made Jason jump, losing his balance. Seconds later Jason found it wasn't only his feet in the water.

As he re-emerged, now soaking wet, he saw Eliza laughing her head off, finding his unplanned dive greatly amusing. He swam to the edge of the dock, a mischievous smile on his face.

"Oh no!" Eliza said, backing away as he swam closer, "No way are you getting me..." Her words were cut off as she backed away a step too far and found herself taking a mid-afternoon swim.

"Do we even want to ask what happened to the pair of you?" Caitlyn said when she and Nate arrived shortly after to find Eliza and Jason sitting in the sun attempting to dry off.

In sync they blamed each other while Nate and Caitlyn just rolled their eyes.

"I'm surprised we beat Shane and Mitchie." Nate commented. He had expected that Caitlyn and he would be the last to arrive as Nate had been in a secret rehearsal to practise his first performance as Andy Green.

"They're probably off enjoying a few more minutes without work." Eliza reasoned.

"What about Marie?" Caitlyn asked, assuming Eliza would know but, to everyone's surprise, it was Jason who responded.

"She's doing a bit of extra practise. I keep forgetting that this will be her first ever time performing on stage." They others realise that they too hadn't thought about that fact.

Shane and Mitchie arrived a short while later, explaining that they'd been out in a canoe and had lost track of time. They all sat conversing, awaiting the arrival of their final member.

_CR-CR-CR_

_Sweet Sweet Superstar_

_Superstar_

"That was perfect Marie!" Peggy congratulated her student, who she had grown rather fond of, despite their issues, during the numerous hours they had spent together getting Marie's song right.

"Do you think I'm ready?" Marie asked uncertainly. It wasn't until she'd gotten through her rehearsal time on the stage earlier that it had finally clicked with Marie. Tonight she would be taking to the stage, people would be judging her for herself, not as Eliza's sister. After she'd left the rehearsal she'd gone and found Peggy, begging her to give some last minute instruction.

"You're definitely ready. Sing like that tonight and you'll wow the crowd and maybe have a shot at winning."

"I don't think that's likely." Marie replied as she packed her guitar back in its case.

"Why not? You're talented Ri, you've got just as much of a chance as everyone else and you're better than most of the people competing." As she said that, Peggy realised she meant every word. Marie was the most talented person at camp in Peggy's opinion and she would be proud to pass her title on to the young Austen.

"That's kind of you Peggy, but I can't win." Marie admitted, "I went to Brown this morning and asked if I could take part but be removed from the competition." She explained.

"Why would you do that?" Peggy asked, surprised Marie wouldn't want the chance to win. It was the only reason most campers spent their summer here.

"I've got plenty of chance and people to get me into this industry, whereas other people competing haven't got that once they leave. I wouldn't want to take someone else's chance." Marie had thought it all through after her talk with Alexandra and knew it was the right choice.

After packing everything away, Marie joined Peggy at her desk, deciding to spend a few minutes with the girl who had helped her the most all summer.

"I'm quite sad to be leaving here." Peggy admitted. As stressful as this summer had been, she still loved it at Camp Rock. It had changed her life after all. "Have you spoken to Jason yet?" Over the last few days, whilst helping Marie with her song, Peggy had seen how strongly and deeply Marie felt for Jason and had come to realise that them being together was right, so she'd encouraged Marie to talk to him before the show.

"Yeah, I did." Marie admitted. The smile and blush that crept across her face gave Peggy all the other information she needed to know.

"Congratulations." She said, wrapping her arms around Marie and pulling her in for a hug. "Take care of him." Marie promised she would.

As they sat there for a few moments, Peggy noticed the guilt still lurking within Marie's features. She realised that for Marie to be completely comfortable she needed to know that one bit of information Peggy had kept to herself so far.

"Marie," she started, trying to think how to phrase her explanation. "There's something you need to know about mine and Jason's relationship." Confused as to where her mentor was going with this, Marie's mine jumped to the worst conclusions. When Peggy carried on, it was more of a relief than anything else. "It wasn't real. The label thought it would be good promotion for Jason and I if we pretended to date. He didn't want to agree but then Caitlyn told him you and Fynn were together and he lost all hope for what he really wanted, so he agreed. For him it was never more than a publicity stunt. If it hadn't been for his belief that you had moved on, he never would have given in to the label."

As Peggy finished her explanation, things slowly checked into place. Marie remembered a conversation she'd had with Caitlyn, days before Jason and Peggy's relationship was announce, in which she told Caitlyn all about her evening with Fynn. If she'd stayed in touch with Jason, if she hadn't just given up fighting, this could all have been avoided. For the first time, Marie realised that her last four months of sadness had been her own fault.

"Thank you for telling me." Marie said, knowing it couldn't have been easy for Peggy to talk about.

_CR-CR-CR_

"Sorry I'm late." Marie called as she ran towards the docks noticing all of her friends already gathered.

"Since you're the only one competing tonight, I think we'll let you off." Shane commented as Marie took as seat beside her sister. She waited, expecting some reaction to her and Jason's changed relationship. When none came, she realised that maybe they didn't yet know. Or maybe she'd assumed things were more resolved than they actually were. Pulling her phone out, she sent a message to Jason, suggesting they have a little fun, his reaction confirming their position.

"When is our rehearsal slot for our group song?" Eliza asked, realising she had almost forgotten the one performance she had to do that night.

"We're the last ones on the stage, so they can clear everyone out beforehand, allowing it to remain a secret til the last minute." Caitlyn explained.

They spent the next hour reminiscing about their summer and making possible plans for the future. All that time, Marie and Jason barely looked at each other, leading their friends to assume nothing had changed. It was only as they all stood to walk to their rehearsal that the pair gave the slightest hint that something was going on. Marie waited for Jason to catch her up and as his arm wrapped around her waist, a broad smile broke across her face. Eliza didn't miss any of it.

_CR-CR-CR_

"Ten minutes until show time!" Dee called excitedly through the backstage area where all the performers had gathered. It was finally time to take to the stage and the nerves were clear on everyone's faces, including the members of Connect 3. Once their song was done they would have to make the most difficult announcement of their careers.

The girls wished the boys luck as they were instructed to head to the side of the stage. As Mitchie and Caitlyn shared kisses with their boyfriends, Marie wrapped her arms around Jason and whispered in his ear;

"Go enjoy yourself one last time." She hugged him tightly then watched as he disappeared towards the stage. As she walked to the seats that Brown had reserved for them at the back of the auditorium, Eliza held her sister back.

"You are _so_ telling me what's going on after the show." Marie claimed she had no idea what Eliza was referring to before rushing ahead to catch up with the other two, avoiding further questioning.

As they reached their seats the lights went down. Everything was dark and electric excitement filled the auditorium. All of a sudden fire lit the front of the stage. Connect 3 burst into song one last time.

**To be continued...**


	29. Setting Final Jam Off

**Chapter 29: Setting Final Jam Off**

**Previously:**

**All of a sudden fire lit the front of the stage. Connect 3 burst into song one last time. **

The drum beat kicked in as Shane's voice filled the auditorium, Connect 3s newest single debuted, but the fans didn't know how important this song would end up being for them.

_Driving down the boulevard_

_Solo_

_She pulls up in her daddy's car_

_Top down_

_Says you've got friends_

_And I've got mine_

_And I've got nothing on my mind_

_Rocking out to my favourite song_

_Is all I really need_

_But it'd be better if you roll with me_

_We got the words_

_If you've got the money_

_We got the time_

_If you've got the place to be _

_And we're not gonna to stop_

_Til we set it off_

_We got tonight to make every memory_

_Ready or not_

_Cos we're gonna make you see_

_That we're not gonna stop_

_We're gonna set this party off_

The girls watched as their boys ruled the stage they started their careers on, proving, as they always did, just why they deserved the successes they'd had.

_We're gonna set this party off_

_She looked at me like I was so_

_Crazy_

_But I could tell she was in cos she didn't say no_

_Right away_

_She told me she would think about it_

_Girls like that they gotta keep you guessing_

_And then she blasted her favourite song_

_But I still heard her scream_

_Baby you could come with me_

_We've got the words_

_If you've got the money_

_We've got the time_

_If you've got the place to be_

_And we're not gonna stop_

_Til we set it off_

_We've got tonight to make every memory_

_Ready or not cos we're gonna make you see_

_That we're not going to stop _

_Til we set this party off_

_All I need is my favourite song_

_But it sounds better when you _

_Sing a long_

_Sing along_

_We've got the words _

_If you've got the money_

_We've got the time_

_If you've got the place to be_

_And we're not gonna stop_

_Until we set it off_

_We got tonight_

_To make every memory_

_Ready or not cos we're gonna make you see_

_That we're not gonna stop_

_We're gonna set this party off_

_We got the words if you've got the money_

_Woah woah_

_We got the time _

_If you've got the place to be_

_We're gonna set this party off_

_We got tonight to make every memory_

_Woah woah_

_No we're not gonna stop_

_Til we set this party off._

The song drew to a close, the audience were on their feet cheering. Shane took a deep breath then stepped forward. Show set off, it was time to make their announcement. He'd lost the game of rock, paper, scissors earlier in the day and as a result was responsible for breaking the news.

"Good evening everyone, and welcome to Final Jam! We've got a fantastic show lined up for you, filled with this summer's greatest talent, as well as some very special guest performances." He paused, waiting for the cheers to die down. "But first, there is something we must tell you."

As Jason stood watching his brother make the announcement, he felt guilty. He was the one who caused this decision to be made; he should be taking the blame. So, without thinking, Jason stepped forward, placing a hand on Shane's shoulder, indicating that he'd take it from that point. Their fans deserved a proper explanation, not just a label created lie.

"From the end of tonight Connect 3 will be taking a break." There were shocked gasps from all around. "Firstly we'd like to thank all our fans for the support you have given us."

At the back of the auditorium the girls were wondering what had led to the change in spokes person.

"What's Jason doing?" Mitchie asked the others.

"He'd taking control of his life," Marie spoke up, "like they all promised to do in New York." When she saw him step forward she felt proud. He was finally speaking out against everything that had caused him difficulties and was giving his fans the truth, something she was sure the label would have discouraged.

"Secondly, and in some ways more importantly, we feel that after supporting us for so long, our fans deserve to know the truth about our break."

Eliza scanned the audience, looking for the two people whose reactions she was most interested in. She hadn't had a confirmation from Denise about her and Paul's attendance at the show but as she scanned row by row her eyes eventually landed on the two of them, sat in the middle. What surprised her even more was that they were sat beside her own parents, and seemed completely calm.

"I have fully enjoyed the past few years, being able to entertain all of you, especially recently when you all accepted us for our own sound, but for now that spark that I once had for performing has gone out. There is a lot of fantastic talent out there, which tonight's show will prove to you. Sometimes for there to be room for new talent, old talent has to step aside for a while." From beside his brother, Nate was stunned by the speech Jason was giving. As far as he was aware, Jason hadn't prepared anything before hand. It was the most grown up he had ever heard his brother be and in that moment Jason really seemed his twenty one years of age.

"So tonight we say goodbye, but we are not turning our backs on you and this is not the last you will see of us." He glanced behind to his brothers who stepped forward, the three of them linking hands. "Any of us." As one they bowed, as they had done at the end of every show they had ever performed together.

Then they walked off the stage to a standing ovation, leaving Brown to take their place.

"Well said Jase." Nate said, patting his brother on the back before disappearing to rapidly get changed, knowing his uncle would be announcing his position on the judges table in a few minutes.

"Impressive speech bro." Shane commented as they walked toward their seats to join the girls, "I could have handled it though."

"I know, but you didn't deserve to. You've had the press blame you for enough already. I thought it was my turn." Jason admitted before they took their seats, Shane by Mitchie, Jason between Eliza and Marie.

"Let's hear it one last time for Connect 3!" Brown called into the microphone, proud of how mature his nephews had acted. As the cheers died down it was time to start the competitive aspect of tonight. "I know that all the campers here, and the instructors too, have been excitedly awaiting the announcement of the guest judges this year." They had made every effort to keep it a secret since the decision was made. "Before I introduce you to them, let me remind you of this year's prize which our campers are competing for." He was delaying the announcement to allow Nate more time to prepare.

"This year the winner of Final Jam will not only be given the opportunity to record their winning song in a professional studio with top producers aiding them," that alone raised a huge cheer, but Brown knew the second half of the prize, which had only been a rumour until now, would create more excitement, "they will also be given the opportunity to create their own music video, guest starring Andy Green."

The crowd went wild at the mere mention of his name and from beside the stage, changed and ready to go, Andy Green stood terrified that, by the end of the night, the reaction to his name may be less enthusiastic. He'd wondered so many times whether he was making the right choice, or whether it would ruin all the work he'd put in to making a separate name for himself. He wondered whether his songs would still be given a fair chance once the public knew the true voice behind them.

"Without any further ado, let me introduce you to our judging panel. First up we have the head of Certified Records, responsible for the careers of all our celebrity instructors as well as many other hit artists; Roger Woods." He walked on stage, shook hands with Brown then took a seat at the table right in front of the stage.

"We also have top vocal coach Dionne Wilson." Again she walked on stage briefly before taking a seat at the other end of the table, leaving a gap in the middle. Nate stepped towards the edge of the stage. He took a deep breath, knowing there was no going back now.

"And finally our very special top secret guest tonight is..." There was a drum roll, provided by one of the campers. "Andy Green." Screams filled the auditorium as he took to the stage, appearing as his alter ego for the first time. He did as the other judges had and soon was in his seat, knowing all eyes were focussed on him.

"Nice job with the outfit Liza." Mitchie whispered to her friend, "Somehow, even though I know it's him, I would never have guessed." Andy was wearing dark blue jeans, a white T-shirt and a leather jackets, a rather different look to Nate's normal smart attire. On his head he wore a black fedora hat, carefully positioned to cover his hair and face. He wanted to look different as Andy Green, to ensure fans were aware he wasn't going to be the same as the Nate Grey they had come to know in Connect 3.

The lights dimmed again as Baron and Sander kicked off the competition section of the evening. After only a few acts the audience realised that the talent this year was bigger and better than ever.

**AN: Hope you guys liked this chapter, we are fast approaching the end. However, I am moving back to uni today and may be without internet for a week. I will put up another chapter once I'm back online!**


	30. Sweet Superstar

Chapter 30: Sweet Superstar

Marie snuck away from her friends a few songs in, wanting enough time to prepare herself before taking to the stage. She sat in the backstage area tuning her guitar as Alexandra's name was called. Alex rushed past her and onto the stage. As the first beats of her song played, curiosity got the better of Marie and she, along with some of the other competitors, moved to watch Alex. In comparison to her performance the other day, Marie was stunned by the improvement. There seemed to be real emotion in what she was singing about and out of all of the acts so far, Alexandra was definitely Marie's favourite. Marie felt pleased, Nate had confirmed to her last night that whether she won or not, Alexandra would have the chance to prove to her family that she was just as good as her sister, even if she didn't know it yet.

_CR-CR-CR_

"How's everyone enjoying the show?" Brown asked, taking to the stage once more. At the back of the auditorium the group of friends grew nervous, knowing who was going to be up next. "Our next performer has made a request." Brown continued, turning to the judges to inform them of the change, "she has asked to be excluded from the competition." That came as quite a surprise to the others, "but would still like to perform for you." He turned back to the audience. "With her song 'Superstar' please give it up for Marie Austen."

A stool had been brought on to the stage, a single spot shone down upon it as Marie took a seat and moved her guitar into place. This was it, her time to shine and, more importantly, her best chance to show how she really felt.

She started to strum the introduction and for the first time her friends got the opportunity to see just how truly talented she was.

_This is wrong but_

_I can't help but feel like_

_There ain't nothing more out there_

_Misty morning_

_Comes against and I can't_

_Help but wish I could see your face_

_I knew from the first note played I'd be_

_Breaking all my rules to see you_

Before the summer, after everything that had happened, Marie had made a promise to herself to stay away from Jason, to avoid falling in too deep and getting her heart broken again. But sitting on the stage, singing a song for him, she knew she wouldn't change a thing. It made them who they were and they were stronger for it.

_You smile that beautiful smile_

_And all the girls in the front row_

_Scream your name_

_So dim that spotlight_

_Tell me things like_

_I can't take my eyes off of you_

_I'm no one special just another_

_Wide eyed girl_

_Who's desperately in love with you_

_Give me a photograph_

_To hang on my wall_

_Superstar_

At the back of the auditorium, Jason leaned over to his sister. He had a theory on the meaning behind the song, but wanted to confirm it.

"Is this...?"

"About you?" Eliza said, knowing it was what he was going to ask. "Yeah, you're the main reason she's up there. She wanted you to know how she really feels so she wrote a song for you."

Jason didn't know how to respond. He was so touched. He watched the rest of the song in a stunned silence, knowing the girl on stage was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

_Good morning loneliness_

_Comes around when I'm not _

_Dreaming about you_

_When my world wakes up today_

_You'll be in another town_

_I knew when I saw your face I'd be_

_Counting down the ways to see you_

_You smile that beautiful smile_

_And all the girls in the front row_

_Scream your name_

_So dim that spotlight_

_Tell me things like_

_I can't take my eyes off of you_

_I'm no one special_

_Just another wide eyed girl_

_Who's desperately in love with you_

_Give me a photograph_

_To hang on my wall_

_Superstar_

Roger leant over to Nate, knowing the girl on stage had been on tour with them, knowing she was Andy Green's assistant, but unsure why she had withdrawn from the competition.

"Why didn't you tell us she was so talented?" Roger asked.

"I didn't know." Nate admitted. He had heard her practising guitar with Jason in their hotels and on the buses, but he'd never heard her sing. The performance she was giving tonight made him wonder why she'd hidden her talent from them all.

"We may have just found Andy Green's main opening act." Roger suggested before returning his attention to the stage.

_You've played in bars_

_You play guitar_

_I'm invisible _

_And everyone knows who you are_

_You'll never see_

_You sing me to sleep_

_Every night on the radio_

Peggy was proud of her student. She'd worked hard all summer and completely deserved to captivate the audience the way she was. Though Peggy knew Marie didn't care about the competition or a career, she hoped that one day the younger Austen would have the success she deserved.

_So dim that spotlight_

_Tell me things like_

_I can't take my eyes off of you_

_I'm no one special _

_Just another wide eyed girl_

_Who's desperately in love with you_

_Give me a photograph_

_To hand on my wall_

_Superstar_

_Sweet sweet superstar_

_Superstar_

Marie stood and bowed before leaving the stage, the cheers of the crowd echoing in her ears. They'd liked her song, they were cheering for her. She could barely believe it. As she left the stage she was greeted by the one person whose opinion mattered the most. She ran to him and was pulled into a hug.

"You were incredible." Jason told her.

"Did you like it?" She asked uncertainly.

"Better than that, I loved it!" He declared, taking her hand in his. "Fancy a quick walk?" She nodded and allowed him to lead her outside into the moonlight. When they were far enough away they stopped and Jason placed a gentle kiss on her lips. To Marie it was almost magical.

As he pulled away Jason took both of her hands in his and stared deep into her eyes. "I can't take my eyes off of you." He told her, causing a blush to rise across her cheeks. "And to me, you are the most special person in the world. Ri ri, will you go out with me?" He wanted to be certain of where their relationship stood and as he waited for her to answer he felt more anxious than he had in his whole life.

"Of course I will Jay!" She pulled him close to her again, their lips connecting for the first time as official boyfriend and girlfriend.

"Oh how cute, he finally got his girl." A bitter voice spoke from behind them. They spun around to find themselves face to face with James.

"Why can't you just leave us alone?" Marie said, not wanting him to ruin yet another night.

"Don't worry Marie, once I get _my_ girl, I'll leave you all alone." James said, moving towards the back entrance. Jason moved to get him but Marie pulled him back.

"Wait." Marie whispered, knowing James had mistimed his attack.

Inside Brown announced there would be a ten minute interval as they had reached the midpoint of the evening. Security moved to the outside to check the area was safe and within seconds James had walked straight into their hands.

As they dragged him off, Marie made them pause beside her.

"Don't worry James; I won't have an issue testifying against you. Enjoy prison." She waved him off as security took him off site and out of their lives.

**AN: I have internet again! So you guys get another chapter. This story is fast approaching its end! Thank you for reading**


	31. They're One And The Same

Chapter 31: They're One And The Same

After congratulations were given for her performance, Marie and Jason returned to their seats at the back. They were about to fill their friends in on what had happened outside when the lights dimmed and Brown returned to the stage, kick starting the second half of the show.

Act after act came onstage, showcasing a variety of styles and abilities. Finally the one band Marie and the others were most excited about took to the stage.

'What you believe' were a full band, with two guitarists, violinists, a keyboard player, a drummer and a lead singer. The latter had both spent most of the summer with the gang.

Melissa sat at the drum kit, staring out over the audience, pleased it was finally their turn. They had worked hard all summer and she hoped that despite the fierce competition, their performance would be flawless and they'd have a shot at the prize.

Ella took her position at the front of the stage. Over the summer her confidence had grown and now she felt completely at home with the band she had put together.

"Nobody's Perfect." Ella spoke into the microphone, kicking off their performance. The violins played their intro then the drum beat kicked in and Ella's voice filled the room.

_When I'm nervous_

_I have this thing_

_Yeah I talk too much_

_Sometimes I just can't shut the hell up _

_It's like I need to tell someone_

_Anyone who'll listen_

_And that's where I seem to screw up_

_Yeh I forget about the consequences_

_For a minute there I lose my senses_

_And in the heat of the moment_

_My mouth starts going_

_The words start flowing_

_Ooh_

_But I never meant to hurt ya_

_I know it's time that I learnt ta_

_Treat the people I love like I wanna be loved_

_This is a lesson learnt._

It was so different from anything the crowd had heard that night. It felt truthful and so thought through. The band played perfectly together and Ella had the star quality to pull it all together. To the former campers gathered there that night, there was no doubt in their minds. This was Ella's year and she was doing all that she could to ensure that win.

_I hate that I let you down_

_And I feel so bad about it_

_I guess karma comes back around_

_Cos now I'm the one that's hurting yeah_

_And I hate that I made you think_

_That the trust we had is broken _

_Don't tell you can't forgive_

_Cos nobody's perfect. _

Ella showed off her vocal skills as she walked around the stage, interacting with her band and the audience. She lost herself to the music, forgetting she was on the Camp Rock stage, feeling like she had finally made it.

_Nobody's perfect no_

_If I could turn back the hands of time_

_You see I never would have crossed that line_

_I should have kept it between us_

_But no I went and told the whole world how I'm feeling_

_So I sit and I realise_

_With these tears falling from my eyes_

_I gotta change if I wanna_

_Keep you forever_

_I promise that I'm gonna try_

_But I never meant to hurt ya_

_I know it's time that I learned ta_

_Treat the people I love_

_Like I wanna be loved_

_This is a lesson learnt_

_I hate that I let you down_

_And I feel so bad about it_

_I guess karma comes back around_

_Cos now I'm the one that's hurting yeah_

_And I hate that I made you think_

_That the trust we had is broken_

_So don't tell you can't forgive me_

_Cos nobody's perfect _

As Ella walked down the cat walk, singing her heart out, she thought about what had inspired the song. She knew people would assume it was the story of her cheating on a boyfriend, but she would never do that. The song had been co-written between her and Melissa after a late night discussion where they both admitted their family problems. Neither girl had a secure family, having both been hurt through parental divorces at a young age. For Ella it had made her shy and stopped her achieving the potential everyone expected. For Melissa, it had ruined her relationship with her brother as they took separate sides and eventually ended up not speaking. This song had been like therapy to them. It was an apology to their families and themselves for how they had let the past affect them.

_I'm not a saint_

_No not at all_

_But what I did_

_It wasn't cool_

_And I swear that I'll never_

_Do that again to you_

The guitarists started singing, giving an extra level to the vocals.

_I'm not a saint_

_(not a saint)_

_No not at all_

_(Not at all)_

_But what I did_

_(What I did)_

_It wasn't cool_

_(Wasn't cool)_

_But I swear that I'll never_

_Do that again to you_

_I hate that I let you down_

_And I feel so bad about it_

_I guess karma comes back around_

_Cos now I'm the one that's hurting yeah_

_And I hate that I made you think_

_That the trust we had is broken_

_So don't tell you can't forgive me_

_I hate that I let you down_

_And I feel so bad about it_

_I guess karma comes back around_

_Cos now I'm the one that's hurting yeah_

_And I hate that I made you think_

_That the trust we had is broken _

_Don't tell me you can't forgive me _

_Cos nobody's perfect _

_Yeah yeah ooh_

_Don't tell me _

_Dont tell_

_Don't tell me_

_You can't forgive me _

_Oh no_

_No cos nobody's perfect _

_No._

The song ended, the lights rose and the crowd went wild having never seen such a strong performance on the Final Jam stage. As Brown introduced the next act, he felt bad for them, knowing it would be almost impossible to follow 'What You Believe's' performance.

_CR-CR-CR _

Three acts followed 'What you believe' but none of them were a patch on the band. As the final act left the stage, Brown announced the judges wanted a few minutes to confer.

"Who do you think will win then?" Shane asked, wanting his friend's opinions.

"It's got to be Ella's band." Caitlyn argued, to which Mitchie agreed.

"I dunno, I think Baron and Sander stand a chance." Eliza claimed, having quite enjoyed their performance at the start of the night.

"The junior rockers could have totally taken on everyone." Jason added.

"Jase, the junior rockers weren't eligible." Shane replied.

"I know, but in a few years they will be, then they'll beat everyone." Jason stated, his full confidence in the talent he had mentored.

"What do you think Ri?"

Marie stayed silent for a moment, thinking through all the performances.

"I honestly don't know. They were all so good." Marie had heard that Final Jam showcased the best new talent in music but it wasn't until now that she really had believed it. And she'd been part of it. As she glanced over at Jason she thought back to a year ago, sitting grounded in her room having ruined her own summer. She would never have predicted how much her life could change in the space of one year. And the changes weren't over yet.

Suddenly, unexpected to the whole audience except those hidden at the back, the lights faded and the stage was lit once more. There, sat at a piano, was Andy Green, ready to perform on of his most successful singles. It was time to show the audience who he really was. It had taken him a while to decide which song to perform but he felt this one best summed up his feelings. After all, the audience's reaction tonight was critical to his career.

_There's a storm coming up _

_And I gotta prepare myself_

_Cos this feelings getting stronger every day_

_Something's creeping inside _

_Everything is about to change_

_Gotta face the fact that I can't walk away_

_This is critical_

_I am feeling helpless_

_So hysterical_

_And this can't be healthy_

_I can't eat or sleep_

_When you're not with me_

_Baby you're the air I breathe_

_This is critical_

_Yeah_

_So stuck on you_

It was just him and a piano, no backing vocal or instruments. This was how he wanted the audience to see him. He was trying to work out when it would be best to make the revelation. He carried on through another verse so his vocals would prove to his fans it really was him.

_Used to have everything figured out_

_But it's different now_

_When you came_

_You saw_

_You conquered my heart_

_It's your laugh_

_And your smile_

_Wanna stay for a little while_

_I don't wanna go_

_I just want you_

_In my arms_

He'd written this for Caitlyn at the end of the American tour, knowing he wouldn't see her for a while. He'd given it to her as a production project to work on while he was away. When they'd next seen each other and he heard what she had done with it, he was in awe. His girl had talent and he hoped that soon the label would notice that and give her a chance.

_This is critical_

_I am feeling helpless_

_So hysterical_

_And this can't be healthy_

_I can't eat or sleep_

_When you're not with me_

_Baby you're the air I breathe_

_This is critical_

_Yeah_

_So stuck on you_

_Use to run and hide_

_Used to back out of love_

_But I can't escape this time_

_I know_

He couldn't escape the reason he was on stage. Slowly he removed his hat and as he carried on playing, he turned toward the audience, showing them who he really was. He heard the gasps of shock, saw the looks of disbelief, but what surprised him was that no one seemed disappointed.

_This is critical_

_I am feeling helpless_

_So hysterical_

_And this can't be healthy_

_I can't eat or sleep_

_When you're not with me_

_You're the air I breathe_

_This is critical, yeah_

_Baby it's so critical_

_So critical_

_Yeah and I like it_

_It's so critical_

_So critical yeah_

_So stuck on you._

He finished the song, the lights dimmed to darkness. Nate Grey and Andy Green were one and the same and now the world knew.


	32. End Of Camp

Chapter 32: End Of Camp

"Andy Green everybody!" Brown announced as he joined his nephew on the stage. The cheers surprised Nate, letting him know that he would still have fans after that night. "Now, if I can get the other judges up here, I believe we have a winner to crown." Roger and Dionne stood beside Nate. Their decision hadn't taken long, it was clear who they all thought deserved the prize and, in Roger's words, who was 'the best investment'. Roger passed the envelope to Brown.

All of the competing acts filed onto the stage, readying themselves for the most important announcement of their lives so far. When they were all in position, Brown continued.

"The winner of this year's Final Jam is..." He paused, mounting the tension. The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop.

"What you believe!" Screams erupted in glee as the rightful act was crowned the winners. All around her, the band was jumping for joy, but Ella stood frozen, unable to believe she finally actually won.

"We did it Ella, we won!" Melissa squealed in happiness. The band walked forward to join Brown and the judges. As Ella shook hands with Roger, she burst into tears knowing it was finally her turn.

"Thank you so much." She said when she was given a microphone, "this means the world to all of us, especially after the huge amount of talent that's been displayed here tonight. I can't believe you chose us!" Cheers rang through the auditorium and gradually the stage cleared, as did the seats at the back.

"Well that's it for another year here at Camp Rock. We want to thank you all for joining us here and hope you had an enjoyable night." Another cheer rose through the crowd.

"Woah, hold on uncle, the shows not over yet!" Shane walked onto the stage, as had been rehearsed. "We promised these guys a few surprise performances and we're going to live up to that." Stage crew brought six microphone stands on and placed them at the front edge of the stage, with stools positioned behind them, then the rest of the gang joined Shane in the centre.

"We've had a fantastic summer helping all these musicians learn and reach their potential. The best part for us is that we've been able to send our knowledge on to them." Eliza spoke up, starting the introduction to the song they'd spent weeks working on.

"Tonight," Mitchie stepped forward, feeling so pleased to be back on the stage where her career started a year ago, "we have a very special song for everyone. We've spent our summer evenings working on this as a group and we hope you enjoy it."

The gang then all took a seat, Nate and Eliza to the left, Shane and Mitchie in the centre and Marie and Jason to the right.

"Before we start," Shane said, knowing it would up the crowd's excitement, "there's one more member of our group who has been a camper here for years. Many of you know her, please put your hands together for Caitlyn Gellar, the girl whose idea this song was and who has been in charge of the entire production of it." Shane felt it was important, especially with Roger watching, to make sure Caitlyn got the credit she deserved. It wasn't only Nate who wanted her to have the career success she desired.

Caitlyn was sat at the side of the stage in a mini production booth, well aware of how important this song was for her. She was surprised by Shane's introduction, though she was even more surprised by the huge round of applause which followed it.

"This is Send It On." Eliza said, as Nate played the opening chords. Nate and Eliza started the song, the pairings they had originally agreed on had worked out vocally better than they could have imagined.

_A word's_

_Just a word_

_Til you mean what you say_

_And love_

_Isn't love_

_Til you give it away_

_We've all got a gift_

_Yeah something to give_

_To make a change_

As one the group launched into the chorus, singing all together for the first time.

_Send it on_

_On and on_

_Just one hand can heal another_

_Be a part_

_Reach a heart_

_Just one spark starts a fire_

_With one little action_

_The chain reaction_

_Will never stop_

_Make it strong_

_Shine a light and send it on_

As the others leant back, Mitchie and Shane took their turn in the limelight.

_Just smile_

_Just smile_

_And the world_

_And the world_

_Will smile along with you_

_That small_

_Act of love_

_That's meant for one _

_Will become two_

_If we take the chances_

_To change circumstances_

_Imagine all we can do_

_If we_

_Send it on_

_On and on_

_Just one hand can heal another_

_Be a part_

_Reach a heart_

_Just one spark starts a fire_

_With one little action_

_The chain reaction_

_Will never stop_

_Make it strong_

_Shine a light and send it on_

_Send it on_

_(Send it on)_

_There's power in all of the choices we make_

_So I'm starting now_

_There's not a moment to waste. _

As Marie and Jason were left alone at the microphones, Jason took her hand. Despite performing alone earlier that night, Marie admitted that she found performing alongside him and the rest of their group, especially during her solo, daunting. She felt like she didn't deserve to be on that stage with him. Now, sitting beside her, Jason couldn't understand how she could believe that. She had every right to be there and after tonight, no one would ever doubt that.

_A word's_

_Just a word_

_Til you mean what you say_

The nerves were clear in Marie's voice, though they disappeared once Jason's voice melded with hers, stunning the audience with how perfect they sounded together.

_And love_

_Isn't love_

_Til you give it away_

As they all launched back into the chorus, Jason and Marie disappeared off the side of the stage briefly, dragging everyone who had taken part in Final Jam that night back on. They all lined up behind the six artists and gradually the auditorium filled with over 100 voices singing the chorus.

_Send it on_

_On and on_

_Just one hand can heal another_

_Be a part_

_Reach a heart_

_Just one spark starts the fire_

_With one little action_

_The chain reaction_

_Will never stop_

_Make it strong_

_Shine a light and send it on_

_On and on_

_Just one hand can heal another_

_Be a part_

_Reach a heart_

_Just one spark starts a fire_

_With one little action_

_The chain reaction_

_Can't be stopped_

_Make it strong_

_Shine a light and send it on_

_(Shine a light and send it on) _

_Shine a light and sent it on._

The room went black and with that, Camp Rock was over.

_CR-CR-CR_

"You're not actually going to give us a choice, are you?" Shane complained as Eliza led him and his brothers to her cabin where Denise and Paul were waiting for them. They'd actually bothered to turn up and it was the least Eliza could do; to get their sons to see them.

"Five minutes, that's all I'm asking you to stay for. Just say 'hello' and give them a chance to talk, then you can leave and I'll never make you talk to them again." To Nate and Jason that seemed fair, but Shane remained stubborn.

"If you don't go see them then I won't tell you my news and if I can't tell you, then I'll have to keep it a secret from Mitchie and everyone else and I don't think the others will be too pleased about that." Jason threatened Shane.

"Fine." Shane gave in, knowing that if his action led to a secret being kept, both Mitchie and Caitlyn would kill him. They liked their gossip.

When they arrive at the cabin, Eliza knocked on the door, feeling rather nervous. Whilst she wanted her family united as one, it didn't stop her feeling uncertain about meeting the Greys face to face.

"Eliza, you came!" Denise said happily as she saw her daughter enter the room. "And you brought my boys!" She rushed at them and gathered them into a hug, an action the three guys weren't too pleased about.

When they pulled away, everyone took a seat, the guys on the beds one side of the room, their parents the other, leaving Eliza stood as mediator in the middle. Denise started asking questions about how they were and congratulated Nate on his solo success, but it didn't slip their notice that Paul was remaining very quiet.

"What's up dad? Cat got your tongue?" Shane said. He was willing to give his mom a chance, but still didn't trust his dad one bit. Shane knew Paul was the type of person who would never change.

"You quit." Paul said bluntly. "You had _everything_ you ever wanted; all the success, the fame, the fans, and you _quit._" He practically spat. "I thought I'd raised you better than that."

The guys said nothing. They'd expected this. Not even five minutes in a room together and already their father was criticising them, accusing them of doing something wrong. They were about to get up and leave, when a voice made them pause.

"Paul, stop it. Just, for once, stop." It wasn't Eliza who spoke the words, it was their mother. Finally she was standing up to the man who had told her what to do since the day she married him. The man who had forced her into decisions and situations she never wanted to be in. Today was the one chance she had to get her family back; she wasn't going to let him ruin things anymore.

Everyone in the room froze after Denise's outburst. It was unexpected to say the least. Silence filled the room, no one was sure what to say.

When Denise and Paul had met, they were both relaxed teens without a care in the world. Then, a few months after getting married against their parents' wishes, Denise had fallen pregnant. It had caused many issues within their family and lead to numerous people, including Paul, questioning whether they were ready for a baby, but they'd fought their way through it and when Denise finally went into labour, she thought it could turn out to be the happiest day of her life. Instead, it turned into the one day that nearly destroyed her marriage.

The nurse had taken both of her children away, leaving her and her husband to talk. The moment they were alone, Paul had launched into an explanation of why they should only keep one child and why it should be the boy. He barely stopped to give Denise a chance to air her view.

"But she's _our_ daughter." Denise argued. She didn't want to imagine her own flesh and blood growing up away from her.

"Everyone's already questioning whether we'll be able to cope with one child, they'll probably disown us if we come back with a second one we are totally unprepared for." Paul had reasoned, "Come on Denise, think about it. We can have our son, make him happy, take care of him as we should. Isn't it better for us to give them both good lives, even if one has to be without us, instead of allowing them to grow up in a situation we can't cope with?"

She'd allowed him to persuade her to his view and because of that, she'd made a mistake she'd regretted for the rest of her life.

Denise had tried to fix her mistake. When she found out she was pregnant with Shane, after telling Paul the good news, she suggested that maybe it was a good time to find their daughter and let her be a part of their growing family. But again she'd allowed Paul to talk her out of it with more excuses of how difficult it would be to cope, and how unfair it would be on the kids.

When her sons had discovered the truth earlier that year and told them to stay out of their lives, it had crushed Denise. By trying to do the right thing for her family, she'd manage to lose all her children. She had wanted to rush after them, to go see them on tour, or at least call and try to get them to speak to her. But, like a fool, she had once more listened to Paul, who had claimed that if she left them alone, their sons would eventually come back to them. She'd believe him to be right each time, yet every time his decisions had made their life worse.

When she'd gotten in touch with Eliza, it was the first time she had gone against Paul's wishes since the day they'd met. But Denise had been determined and her actions had been right. Not only did she now know the daughter she had once lost, but she had a chance to reconcile with the sons whose trust she had betrayed. Nothing, not even her husband, was going to spoil that for her. She wanted her family, together, as it should have been from the start.


	33. And So The Story Ends

Chapter 33: And So The Story Ends

"Denise, you cannot believe they've made the right decision today." Paul stated, stunned to find his wife arguing against him.

"If it's what they want to do, then yes, they have made the right decision." Denise replied.

In an instant Jason was at his mother's side, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her tightly. He'd only come to see his parents to help and support Eliza, he'd been dreading their reaction to his decision, certain it wouldn't be positive. To hear his mother supporting him, even though his father was clearly feeling the opposite, was a pleasant surprise. It made him believe that one day he could maybe forgive her for the awful decision she made in his past.

Moments later his brothers joined him, showing Denise there was still hope for her family. Eliza watched happily, Denise had made so much effort over the last few months to at least make up in some way for putting Eliza up for adoption. There was still a long way to go, but this was definitely a step forward.

"The decision was mine." Jason stated after they all returned to their original positions. "Nate will still be part of the industry, as will Eliza, if you could ever accept her as part of the family," He threw his father a nasty glare and the others had to admit that after tonight, Jason had proved just how grown up he now was. "But if that's not enough dad, then go find someone else to mentor, because we want a father, not another manager."

At that point Jason stood and walked to Eliza, whispering in her ear; "I hope you don't mind, but there's a girl across camp I would much rather be spending my evening with." Eliza hugged and thanked him before allowing him to leave, knowing her sister would be eagerly awaiting his return.

"Do you have anything else to say to us?" Nate asked. In some ways he still wanted their approval. He was only seventeen and there been times over the last six months when he had really missed his parents. But with them here, he thought about all he had achieved on his own, with his friends' support. When no response came he stood and followed Jason out the door, leaving Shane and Eliza to deal with their parents.

"Shane, we know you're angry." Denise eventually spoke up, well aware their middle son, who had kept surprisingly quiet, was the most likely to hold a grudge for a while, "I know nothing we say will take away what we did. All we want is a chance to make it up to you all, to give you and us the family we always should have had."

Shane stood from his spot on the bed and the three other occupants of the room prepared themselves for a typical Shane Grey stroppy response. Instead, his shoulders sagged and a look of sadness spread across his face.

"I know you're trying and that's great. But Eliza's is part of our family already, even if it's without you." He stepped closer to his mother, resting a hand on her shoulder. He could see from her face that she was finding this hard and he hated seeing her so upset. "One day we'll forgive you, we'll all move on from this. But we're not ready for that yet, we're still adjusting. Give us time, we'll make it through this, but it is going to take time." He crossed the room to Eliza, "Thank you." He told her. As much as he had been against coming here, he was glad he'd seen his parents. He felt that one day everyone would be alright. "Stay and talk, I'll tell the others you'll be back soon. You need this chance." He gave her a smile then he too left the room, allowing Eliza and her parents to be alone to finish discussions.

_CR-CR-CR_

Whilst the Greys confronted their family demons, the other three had remained in the auditorium catching up with their family and friends. It was weird for Marie, seeing her parents for the first time in months, knowing that tomorrow they would move thousands of miles away, leaving her to settle into a new home. Although she couldn't wait to live with Eliza, she still wasn't sure how she'd cope not seeing her parents for long periods of time.

"We're so proud of you sweetheart." Ian said, pulling his daughter into his arms. He couldn't believe that he could be blessed with two incredibly talented children.

"Thank you." She hugged him, and then her mother, pleased they had seen her perform. "And thank you for letting me move in with Liza." She hadn't had much of a chance to talk to them about it and wanted them to know how much she appreciated it.

"Work hard at that job of yours, don't let those grades slide and prove to us that we've made the right decision." Sandra replied, nervous about allowing her seventeen year old daughter to live away from them.

At that moment a very cheery and excited looking Caitlyn came bounding over, dragging Mitchie along behind her.

"Guess what, guess what, guess what!" Caitlyn was literally jumping up and down on the spot, she was so excited.

"Mom, dad, you remember Caitlyn and Mitchie?" Marie re-introduce her parents to two of her best friends.

"Hi! Guess what." Caitlyn continued.

"I dunno, pigs are flying?" Marie replied, not sure what could have caused her friend such thrill.

"They liked 'Send It On'! Lots! And were so impressed by all the work I did on it and Andy Green's songs, they've _finally_ offered me a work placement!"

In sync Marie and Mitchie squealed, genuinely pleased for their friend. It had been a long time coming but finally she had gotten what she deserved.

"Oh and they want to talk to you."Caitlyn continued.

"Me?" Marie asked, confused. When Caitlyn confirmed it was her she meant, Marie excused herself and approached Roger, assuming it would have something to do with her assistant job.

"Ah, Marie, nice to see you again." Roger greeted her, shaking her hand a little too enthusiastically.

"You too sir." Marie replied politely, "Caitlyn said there was something you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Yes. We were very impressed with your performance tonight."

"Thank you." Marie said, unsure how else to respond.

"So after some discussion, we would like to make you an offer." As Roger explained the offer, Marie couldn't believe what she was hearing. He offered her a place opening on Andy Green's tour, along with a six month record contract to start her off. It was more than she could have dreamt of. As Roger finished his explanation of the offer, asking her what she thought, out of the corner of her eye Marie saw Jason walk in. In that instant she made up her mind and knew her reply.

"That's an incredible offer. I could never have imagined having a chance in this industry. But I'm sorry, right now I have to say no. Thank you though. And, if it's still possible, I would love to remain Andy Green's assistant."

Roger didn't question her any further on her decision, he could tell she had made up her mind and it wasn't his place to ask questions. He confirmed that he would ensure her job was still there and told her he hoped that one day in the future she would reconsider her decision. He watched as she walked away, the first person he'd met who had turned down such an opportunity.

"What was that about?" Caitlyn asked as Marie appeared beside her once more.

"Nothing, he was just checking I still wanted to work for Nate." She felt bad lying to her friends, but Marie knew they would try and talk her out of her decision if she told them the truth and she didn't want to fight them over it. She had her own reasons and there was no changing her mind.

Gradually, one by one, their gang reunited and, having said farewell to their families, they slipped away, back to the docks, feeling safe out in the dark now James was gone.

"I do believe, big brother, you informed us you had some news to share." Shane stated once they were all gather together and alone for the first time in many hours. Jason glanced at Marie, who was currently sitting beside him. She gave him a slight nod, indicating it was alright for him to tell them.

"Actually, me and Marie both have some news to share." Jason admitted, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. As one the girls in the group all smiled, sensing they knew what was coming. "I asked her out this evening."

"You're together?" Nate asked, to which her received a nod in reply.

"Finally!" Shane said, causing them all to laugh.

Together the gang sat, as the moon settle in place in the sky. When the sun rose the next morning Camp Rock would be finished for another year and they would all return to California to continue their lives. Though things had changed since summer began, there was one thing they all now knew; their little gang had become like one big family and would make it through whatever obstacles the future would hold.

**AN: The End. Well sort of, there is going to be a rather long epilogue after this, but it is your choice whether you read it or not. It's a nice tie up for the two stories. Either way please let me know what you think **


	34. Epilogue

**Here it is, the final chapter in the Austen's lives. Im sorry for the wait but I do hope you all like it!**

Epilogue: What The Future Holds

Marie was lounging on one of the new sofas, staring out of the window, contemplating how, in the past, a view like the one she was looking at would have terrified her. The sun was shining brightly and the view was as breathtaking as it had been the first time she'd seen it. She sighed contentedly and looked around the room in which she was sat. It had taken three months but finally everything was in place and exactly how she wanted it. Her mind drifted back over the last few years. So many things had changed and she definitely hadn't ended up where she had predicted, but no one could claim it was a fact she was unhappy about. In fact, she was the happiest she had ever been.

"Happy birthday!" Marie spun round, smiling as she saw her boyfriend enter the room. He took a seat beside her and she curled up against his side, the comfiest place she knew. "You're up early." He commented.

"Well it _is _my birthday. Only comes around once a year, didn't want to waste it in bed." Marie replied. She'd been counting down the days for a while, having been more than a little excited.

"How about I make us breakfast as a special treat?" He suggested, getting up, already guessing her response.

"Just don't destroy anything, I only finished unpacking in there yesterday." She teased. The apartment still had that clean, new, feeling to it and Marie wanted to keep it that way as long as she could.

"I'll try." Jason promised before disappearing into the kitchen. Marie couldn't help but let her smile grow a little bit wider as she watched him. She still couldn't believe how lucky she was. Millions of girls would kill to be in her position, and there she was, lounging on a sofa in _their_ living room whilst Jason prepared breakfast in _their_ kitchen.

The decision to move in together had taken a while to come to, especially when they had to persuade their families round to the idea. Eventually, everyone had agreed, the perfect apartment had been found and Marie had packed up all her possessions in Eliza's house and officially started sharing a home with the man she loved.

Although the move had occurred three months ago, Marie had barely been around until the last week, too busy travelling the globe assisting the now world famous Andy Green, to unpack. Now, with all the boxes emptied, she finally felt like she was home.

Jason returned a while later, a plate piled high with maple syrup soaked pancakes. At Marie joined him at the table, she laughed at the pancake batter splattered in his hair.

"How bad is it?" She joked.

"I'll clean it up, I promise." Jason replied, looking like a naughty kid who had just been caught.

"I'll let you off this once." Marie planted a soft kiss on his lips, just glad to be able to share this day with him.

As breakfast went on, Jason finally got up the courage to discuss the plans for that day.

"You're sure you don't mind spending your 21st this way?" He had asked the same question repeatedly all week. Marie gave the same response as she had each time before.

"Yes, I'm sure, what more could I want? I get to see my family, and go to the concert of one of my all time favourite bands!" In truth, Marie was actually incredibly excited about the plans for that evening, but she hadn't been able to get that through to Jason yet.

In the five years they had been together, Jason hadn't stopped worrying about the effect celebrity status and public attention could have on their relationship. It was almost as if he forgot all the months Marie had gone through having the press stalk her purely because she was Eliza's sister.

"Connect 3 changed my life," Marie continued, "to see you all back together for one night is the best gift I could ask for." In fact, she had asked for it, though Jason wasn't aware of this. Marie had been the one to suggest the date to the label.

'_Connect 3 reconnecting for one off charity concert, with special friends joining them on stage'_

That's how it had been announced when the guys agreed that five years on, it was time to band together again. The idea of giving the profits to charity had come from Caitlyn who, after achieving her dream of becoming one of the best known music producers in the industry, took on a mission to donate large amounts of money to charities each year.

"I wasn't really talking about the concert." Jason reasoned, his mind focussed on where they would be having lunch.

"Jase, you don't need to worry about that. If things get bad, which I highly doubt they will, we can just walk out. Trust me, it's my birthday, I can do what I want." Marie said, trying to lighten his mood.

They had reluctantly agreed to go to the Grey's house, where they would be meeting the rest of their family and both sets of parents for the only form of celebration they would be able to have all day.

"Now," Marie said as she finished her pancakes, "for more important things?"

"Presents?" Jason suggested, knowing it was her favourite part of this day. Marie nodded enthusiastically and took hold of his hand, encouraging him to lead her to where he had stashed them all.

"Close your eyes." He instructed her. Then, with one hand making sure she couldn't see, he led her into the guest bedroom, the floor of which was coated in presents. When he allowed her to look, she squealed in delight.

"I told you not to get my anything!" She exclaimed, stunned by the pile awaiting her.

"I wish I could claim they were all from me." Jason replied as he wrapped his arms around her waist, enjoying the fact he could hold her close. He had missed her over the last few months, but it had meant he'd spent more time and effort planning what to give her to make today as perfect as possible.

"They're not?" Marie asked, confused as to who else would give her presents. The gang and her family were making her wait until lunch for theirs, which left only Jason and possibly a few other friends, but she didn't think they even knew today was her twenty first.

"Turns out the best song writer in America has more fans than she realises." Jason teased her, quoting what Hot Tunes had called Marie earlier that week. "Where do you want to start?" Jason asked, starting a long morning of present opening.

'_Marie Austen may become as big a star as her sister, without singing a note.'_

The table was set and everyone was gathered together, awaiting the arrival of their special guest. It was the first time both families had joined as one since Final Jam and there was a sense of nerves amongst them all.

"Do you think they'll turn up?" Caitlyn whispered to Nate. They were all still very aware of how Jason felt about his father, despite his younger brothers having eventually forgiven him.

The family had finally been reunited at Shane and Mitchie's wedding, though it had been a struggle to get there. From the moment Shane had announced their engagement , Paul had repeatedly claimed that he refused to attend as he didn't accept Mitchie as a suitable partner for his son.

The rest of the family had tried to persuade him round to the idea, Nate had even told Paul that if he didn't come then he could be certain none of them would talk to him again, a fact that barely seemed to bother him. After that, Shane had told them all to stop trying, it clearly wasn't going to happen.

A few nights before the wedding, Nate and Jason had thrown the groom-to-be a spectacular bachelor party, a night none of them would ever forgot, or speak of. Once the party had ended, in a slightly inebriated state, Jason had phoned his father, who wasn't too pleased about being woken at that hour. It was the first time the eldest son had spoken to his father in four and a half years.

"Dad." He has said, one Paul had stopped ranting about what time it was. "No one cares what you're opinion is about Mitchie, Shane _is_ going to marry her in two days time, whether you object and refuse to attend or not. They're going to get married and stay together for the rest of their lives because there isn't anyone more perfect for Shane than Mitchie. It's not Shane who's missing out if you don't go, Brown will be there and he's more of a father to all of us than you have everor will ever be." That had hurt Paul. Though he wouldn't admit it, he had always been jealous of the relationship that Brown and his sons shared. "You're the one who is missing out. If you don't come, you won't ever see you're middle son get married, it's not a day you can get back. And if you don't attend Shane's wedding, then there won't be an invite to mine, nor Nate's probably. Stop being so stubborn and for once in your life, support your family in something that really matters to them."

Jason had hung up straight after that, not caring what his father reaction would be, and promptly forgot the entire conversation until the day of Shane's wedding. As he and Nate joined Shane at the front of the church as his best men, they'd all cast a glance around the gathered friends and family. It hadn't half shocked them when they saw Paul and Denise sat on their side, looking completely proud of them for once.

Paul had gained forgiveness later that day at the wedding breakfast. The speeches were almost complete when Paul stood, requesting permission to say a few words. Reluctantly Shane had agreed and what was said had surprised everyone.

"I have not been as supportive of my son and Mitchie as I should have been, but being here today, seeing how happy they are together, I just want to say," he looked directly at Shane and Mitchie before continuing, "I'm really proud of you. Both of you. Let's raise a glass to the happy couple!" Everyone had clapped then Shane had walked to his father and hugged him. That was all it had taken to earn forgiveness from the two youngest sons, to hear their father finally say he was proud of something in their lives.

Jason hadn't been so easily swayed. He'd allowed Paul back into his life, agreed to visit his parents every so often, but he still felt uncomfortable around his father.

_CR-CR-CR_

"Marie promised me they would last night." Nate whispered in reply just before the doorbell rang, announcing the birthday girl's arrival.

"Here goes." Denise said as she took her husband's hand and the two of them opened the door. Over the last five years Denise had come to see Marie as another daughter and she wanted this lunch to be perfect for her.

On the other side of the door, Jason was still trying to persuade Marie not to go in.

"We could still back out, go to one of your favourite restaurants instead?" He really did not want to spend the afternoon with his father. He expected it would be very awkward, especially when Jason knew there was something he had to discuss with both fathers in the house, before they left.

"Jase, it'll be fine. Everyone we love is in there and I haven't seen my parents in _ages_. I think this is a great way to spend our afternoon." After her parents had moved away and Marie had started her job, there had been very few opportunities for visits to her parents' new home. Now, for the first time in at least six months, she got to see her family together. Not only that, she got to see everyone else she saw as family too. Spending her birthday with them made it more special.

The door swung open revealing a hallway crammed full of excited looking faces. Marie could tell this would be a day to remember.

After greetings had been exchanged, everyone ventured to the dining room, taking their seats, with Jason and Marie at the head of the table. Chatter exploded around the room as a selection of Marie's favourite foods were brought out and instantly tucked into.

Once all of the food had been devoured, Jason stood, making an announcement.

"I know you all want to give Marie your gifts, but first I have one more to give to her. Marie," he took a small box out of his pocket, "this is from all of us." He handed her the gift and she had a sense she knew what it was going to be. Since Jason and Eliza's twenty firsts, one item had been gifted to each member of the gang, once someone reached that age.

Marie opened the box to reveal the delicate snowflake charm, which matched the one the Grey's grandmother had given the oldest siblings as a sign of their relationship. It had since gone on to become the symbol of their group. Marie flipped it over, inspecting the date on the back. Rather than showing her date of birth, instead it showed a date Marie knew off by heart. It was the date she had first met the gang, the first night of the first tour. The date Marie felt her life started for real.

Gradually everyone else handed Marie their gifts for her. She was surprised by many of them but it was her parents' gift, left until the very end, which had started her tears flowing. They'd handed her a small oddly shaped present which had, at first, disappointed her in size. However, when she removed the wrapping she was stunned by what she held in her hands. It was a key, but not just any old key.

"It's in the garage." Ian explained, "And yes, you can go look now." Marie leapt from the table and grabbed Jason's hand. Together they rushed to the garage, the others following closely behind, not having been informed of this surprise. When Marie entered the Grey's garage and turned on the light, she let out the loudest squeal ever.

There, wrapped up in a bow, stood Marie's dream car. She's passed her driving test only a few weeks before (having not felt the need to drive before that point) but hadn't even mentioned getting a car to her parents. She couldn't believe how lucky she was.

"Now you have no excuse not to come visit us." Susan said, wrapping her arms around her daughter. Marie promised she would drive to see them all the time, thanking them profusely for the best gift she could dream of.

When they all returned inside Denise, with some sadness, made them aware of the time. She'd enjoyed having her house full of her family, but knew they had a time deadline to be at the stadium. A few minutes later the gang gathered in the awaiting limo, promising to see their parents, who had been given complimentary tickets, after the show.

"I told you, that wasn't so bad." Marie whispered to Jason who had relaxed completely after he had disappeared into the kitchen earlier, helping Paul and Ian get dessert.

"Yeah, it was great, you were right." Jason replied, pulling her close to him. From the smile on Marie's face, everyone could tell Marie was enjoying her birthday. Jason knew it was going to get even better. Birthdays still meant a lot to him and he'd planned a lot for today to make it especially amazing.

_CR-CR-CR_

"You're late!" Eric chided as everyone rushed into the backstage area.

"Not our fault, we left on time but there was traffic." Shane responded, "Plus there's still two hours until the show starts, plenty of time to prepare."

"You haven't changed a bit, have you Shane?" Eric said, pleased to see the artists he'd spent many years helping to achieve their dreams were still the same people he remembered. It was odd seeing them now, knowing they were no longer just the boy band that had bought unexpected success to the label.

Once Connect 3 officially split, the three of them had gone on to have successful careers as individuals, though not all in the way fans would have expected.

Nate, of course, had continued working as Andy Green, achieving more than he ever had with Connect 3. He'd reached a career high only a few months ago when his most recent single won him his first Grammy.

Shane had stayed in the limelight but had made a slight transition in careers. He'd put down the guitar and moved into the movie world, surprising everyone, his family included, with his acting ability which had landed him many lead roles. Awards had yet to come, though there had been rumours of nominations awaiting him in the near future.

And Jason? Whilst he still found himself in the limelight, his career was no longer determined by it. After finding his love of children at Camp Rock, Jason had wanted a career which related to them. He'd taken a month to enjoy not having to work and to be with the girl of his dreams then, when Marie had left to travel with Nate on his first solo tour, Jason had finally started a project which would eventually form his new career. Jason had become a respected author of children's books, with some of his best work being recommended reads in schools around the country. When people spotted him in the street they rarely discussed how he had once been in a famous band. Instead it was usually parents who stopped him, informing him that his stories were their child's favourite and thanking him for writing books which brought their sons and daughters such pleasure.

Jason and Shane weren't the only ones who had developed new careers. Marie had two careers of her own. Whilst she still worked as Andy Green's assistant, a role she never wanted to give up, she'd also developed her own career in the music industry.

On Andy's first tour, Nate had come to her, asking some advice on a song. Within minutes she'd come up with some incredible ideas and discovered she enjoyed writing songs more than she'd ever realised. Over the months that followed, Marie had found herself writing song after song, always with an artist in mind. She was the main writer behind some of the biggest selling songs of the last few years and was the first person labels contacted if they wanted an original track. Marie loved the fact she had finally made a name for herself in the music world, without the pressure of having to perform.

_CR-CR-CR_

When the boys were called to the stage for sound check, the girls got some time to be alone.

"I can't believe you're twenty one!" Mitchie said, "You were only sixteen when I met you, now you're properly old."

"Yeah, and you're married." It was strange thinking about how old and grown up they now were. "I still think of Eliza and Jason as being about twenty, not twenty six."

"Thanks for reminding me." Eliza grumbled.

"As long as you don't act old, then you're fine." Caitlyn reasoned, unable to imagine her friends acting like adults.

"Before we all get down about how old we are now, Marie, I have two more gifts that I want to give you." Eliza had kept the two presents because she knew her sister liked her birthday to be extended as long as possible.

"Liza, you've already given me more than enough." Marie said, referring to the brand new guitar and dress Eliza had gotten her to wear that night, not to mention all the other gifts her sister had provided her with.

"You can't turn down gifts Ri." Eliza reasoned as she handed the first one over. Marie slowly ripped the paper apart, revealing a copy of Eliza's new album, which no one had yet seen or heard, and wouldn't for another few weeks. The album cover made Marie laugh. It was a drawing she and Eliza had done together when they were young, showing all the things they had dreamed of.

"That's the real cover by the way." Eliza explained. Her new album had taken a while to complete. She'd wanted every song to relate to something or someone in her life. It was about family, friends and the experience that makes someone who they are. When Eliza had found the drawing whilst clearing out her stuff, she had instantly realised it was the perfect cover.

"It looks amazing sis." Marie said as she flipped the case over to take a look at which songs had made the album. All three girls in the room awaited Marie's reaction as she read the titles.

"You're kidding." Marie gasped, completely surprised by one of the songs, "This is a fake version right? These aren't really exactly the songs you're including?"

"Each and every one will be on the album as your pre-release version shows." Eliza explained. "You didn't think we'd perform that one tonight and not put it on the album did you?" Clearly Marie did. She threw her arms around her sister, unable to believe Eliza had done this for her.

"You want the other present now?" Eliza asked once her sister had calmed down, handing over the slightly larger gift.

At each birthday, Marie and Eliza had always exchanged one gift which was handmade. As Marie unwrapped the notebook, her tears returned with joy.

"It's beautiful." Marie exclaimed. The front of the book was covered in photos of Marie and all her friends from over the years.

"Open it." Eliza advised. When Marie did, she found pages and pages filled with memories. There were photos from all the tours she had been on over the years, Camp Rock and holidays they'd all embarked on. There were some from Shane and Mitchie's wedding and from all of her and Jason's anniversaries. In amongst that were all the articles and magazine cuttings Marie had collected through the years, relating to everything that had happened to their group since they all met. When she neared the back of the notebook, there was a section entitled 'Messages'. Page after page contained a message from all the important people in her life. Marie knew it was something she would cherish forever.

That gift led to a reminiscing session which was eventually interrupted by Eric calling them to a vocal warm up session. The girls promised themselves that they would make sure to always have time for girly nights and reminiscing, no matter how old they got.

After the warm up session was through and the gang were all dressed in their on stage outfits, they were allowed to return to their joint dressing room to wait until the show started. Marie snuggled into Jason's arms on the sofa; the others all sat around them.

"Am I allowed to know your set list yet?" Marie asked. They had all been very secretive about what songs Connect 3 would be performing that night. Jason shook his head. "That's not fair! Everyone else knows." It was true, the other three none band members had been informed of which songs would be included, but Jason had his reasons for keeping Marie out of the loop.

"I've told you before Ri, you were a Connect 3 fan before you met us all. We want you to be able to enjoy the show like the rest of our fans, to be able to get the surprise of our songs as the show goes along." Jason explained, trying to make it clear he was keeping her in the dark for her own benefit. "It's not like you've got long to wait now." He reasoned, planting a kiss on her head.

The others watched the couple interact, enjoying just how happy there were together, sensing the next few days could be the most important of their lives. Shane and Nate had been informed of a final gift Jason had been planning. Whilst they weren't certain he'd go through with it, they really hoped he did.

When it came time for the show to start, the guys bid a brief farewell to the girls before being escorted below the stage to get into their starting positions. It had been decided there would be no opening act for this show as there were already going to be plenty of special guest on the stage that night.

As they waited for the cue to be lifted onto the stage, the three of them were filled with excitement. Their break had been necessary, but they couldn't be more thrilled to be reconnected once more to please their fans.

"Let's give them the performance of our lives." Shane said as they heard the crowd's screams intensify, knowing the lights had been turned out. Seconds later the lift they were standing on rose and Connect 3 were back.

Lights flooded the stage, the boys grabbed their guitars, Shane took centre stage and as his voice rang out, cheers filled the auditorium. For one night only, Connect 3 reminded their fans exactly why they had been so successful.

_I'm hot_

_You're cold_

_CR-CR-CR_

"Are you having a good night?" Nate called out to the audience, who screamed with delight in response. "You've already had one guest star," Nate continued, referring to Mitchie's appearance on the stage. Her and Shane's duet of 'Wouldn't Change A Thing' had been one of the best received songs that night, despite it never having been heard by fans before.

"How would you like another?" The crowd got louder as excitement buzzed around as they waited to find out who was next. "Please make some noise for Eliza Austen!" Nate introduced her before he and his brothers darted off stage. Eliza rocked the show, performing some of her classics before singing her latest single 'Sparks Fly', inspired by her boyfriend of the last three years. The crowd sang along, knowing all the words. From the side of the stage Marie looked on proudly.

"You ready?" Jason asked, once more wrapping his arms around her. He enjoyed nothing more than holding her.

"Definitely not. I'm _so_ nervous."

"That's normal, I was too earlier" He pulled her in and kissed her with all he could. "You're going to be amazing. Trust me." And Marie did.

Eliza moved to one of the stools which had been placed on stage, taking a seat and adjusting her guitar accordingly.

"I've got my own special surprise for you." Eliza announced to the crowd. This part of the show had been kept top secret, ever their parents hadn't been informed. "Making her main stage debut to help me perform my new duet, please welcome my sister, Marie!" To the birthday girl's surprise, the screams her appearance almost rivalled Eliza's. She knew some fans would probably have seen the video of 'Superstar' which had leaked onto the internet, but she never expected them to actually want to hear her perform.

She sat on the other stool on stage, mimicking her sister's position. Then Eliza made one more announcement, one last gift for Marie.

"This is my new single." Marie was stunned, and nervous.

The lights dimmed, leaving the two girls in spot lights. Eliza began to strum her guitar. The song had been kept simple, acoustic only, as they had planned when they first started writing it together a year ago, back when they lived together. The song perfectly summed up how they both felt, especially that night, as Eliza slowly realised her little sister wasn't so little anymore. The crowd stilled in anticipation as the older Austen sang the opening lines.

_You're little hands wrapped around my finger and its_

_So quiet in the world tonight_

_You're little eyelids flutter cos you're dreaming so I_

_Tuck you in_

_Turn on your favourite night light_

_To you everything's funny_

_You've got nothing to regret_

_I'd give all I have honey_

_If you could stay like that_

Marie joined in at the chorus, strumming her brand new guitar and singing in harmony with her sister.

_Oh darling don't you ever grow up_

_Don't you ever grow up_

_Just stay this little_

_Oh darling don't you ever grow up_

_Don't you ever grow up_

_It could stay this simple_

_I won't let nobody hurt you_

_Won't let no one break your heart_

_Now no one will desert you_

_Just try to never grow up_

_Never grow up_

Marie took a deep breath. It was her turn in the limelight. Now was her moment to show the world her talent.

_You're in the car on the way to the movies_

_And you're mortified your mom's dropping you off_

_At fourteen there's just so much you can't do_

_And you can't wait to move out_

_Someday and call your own shots_

They'd written the song whilst reminiscing about their lives together, thinking about how simple things had been in their childhood, with no Greys to cause complications. Now they were on stage, both officially adults, neither could believe they had wished their childhoods away when they were younger.

_But don't make_

_Her drop you off around the block_

_Remember that she's getting older too_

_And don't lose the way that you danced_

_Around in your PJs _

_Getting ready for school_

Marie liked the reference to how Eliza's career had started. Of all the songs she'd written over the years, this was by far her favourite. It perfectly followed the advice Eliza had given her back at Camp Rock. They had written what they knew, their childhood in song form, and she believed it was something people worldwide would relate to.

_Oh darling don't you ever grow up_

_Don't you ever grow up_

_Just stay this little_

_Oh darling don't you ever grow up_

_Don't you ever grow up_

_It could stay this simple_

_When no one's ever burned you_

_Nothing's ever left you scared_

_And even though you want to_

_Just try to never grow up _

Then came their reference to the things they missed most about their youth.

_Take pictures in your mind_

_Of your childhood room_

Eliza still missed the room she had spent hour in, which had perfectly symbolised who she was at that time

_Memorise what it sounded like_

_When your dad got home_

When Marie had moved out it had been the first thing she'd noticed was missing, the sound of her dad walking in the door and saying hello at six o'clock. It had saddened her to realise she would never hear that again.

_Remember the footsteps_

_Remember the words said_

_And all your little brothers favourite songs_

They couldn't help but include a mention to the wider family they had gain at the end of their childhoods.

_I just realised everything I have_

_Is someday gunna be gone_

Marie went on to the final verse that she and Eliza had written only a few months ago when Marie first started moving into her and Jason's home.

_So here I am in my_

_New apartment in a_

_Big city they just dropped me off_

_It's so much colder than I _

_Thought it would be_

_So I tuck myself in_

_And turn my nightlight on_

The girls looked at each other, a smile shared between them. They had partly written this song as a way of reminding themselves that no matter what happened, no matter how much older they grew, they always should remember that child they were at heart and know they were always there for one another.

_Wish I'd never grown up_

_Wish I'd never grown up_

_Oh I don't wanna grow up_

_Wish I'd never grown up_

_Could still be little_

_Oh I don't wanna grow up_

_Wish I'd never grown up _

_It could still be simple_

_Oh darling don't you ever grow up_

_Don't you ever grow up_

_Just stay this little_

_Oh darling don't you ever grow up_

_Don't you ever grow up_

_It could still be simple_

_I won't let nobody hurt you_

_Won't let no one break your heart_

_And even though you want to_

_Please try to never grow up_

_Oh woah _

_Don't you ever grow up_

_No just never grow up_

The crowd broke into cheers. It was clear that song would instantly become a hit.

The rest of the group stood at the side of the stage, stunned. They had heard parts of their rehearsals, and the recording, but nothing compared to watching the sisters perform it together live. It had an emotional impact none of them could have explained.

"Why on earth did she turn down a recording contract?" Caitlyn asked, voicing the question in the other's minds. It was clear from that performance that Marie was just as talented as her sister.

"She didn't want more drama." Jason explained before grabbing a microphone. "Come on, show time."

_'Marie Austen turns down contract, despite labels best efforts at persuasion'_

The entire gang walked on stage, Caitlyn included, and joined Marie and Eliza in the centre. It was time for one last gift.

"You guys have been a fantastic audience!" Shane called out to the stadium of fans. "Now we have one more treat." This had all been rehearsed in secret, with Marie being kept away so it remained a surprise for her.

"As many of you know, today isn't only a celebration of Connect 3s reunion," Eliza said, "but also of my little sister becoming an adult." Marie blushed bright red at Eliza's comment.

"We wanted to give her a very special present. What do you guys think? Does she deserve one?" Jason asked the crowd, who responded with a round of screams. The guys lifted up their guitars, ready for the performance which had taken the most preparation.

"This is for you Marie" Jason said, before they broke into song.

_Hello Beautiful_

_How's it going?_

_I hear it's wonderful_

_In California_

Marie beamed with joy. She should have guessed they would dedicate this song to her. It was, after all, the most important song in her and Jason's lives.

_I've been missing you_

_It's true_

Suddenly the song changed, merging seamlessly from one to another repeatedly as the guys played their way through a montage of songs which spoke about how Jason felt for Marie.

_I'm gunna treat you right_

_We'll never fight_

_Now baby you can trust me_

_When I hold you tight_

_I feel alright_

_I guess that I'm just lucky_

_And when the night is through_

_Baby girl it's just me and you_

_There's only one thing left to do_

_And that's play this song for you 'cause_

_I finally found the missing part of me_

_Felt so close but you were far away_

_Left me without anything to say_

_'Cause I'm_

_I'm not afraid to fall_

_If you're the one who catches me_

_Tell me that you'll be there when I'm_

_About to lose it all_

_You're the one who helps me see_

_That sometimes it's okay to fall_

_To fall_

_Girl you've me going crazy_

_Knocked me off my feet_

Jason approached Marie and handed her an envelope, his last gift of the day. He indicated she should open it. Her eyes grew wide as she saw what was inside.

_Now you've got me begging baby_

_Beginning baby please_

_All I want to know is_

_Do you wanna get away_

_Get away with me_

_Cause girl I don't know what to do_

_Cause I'm so in love _

_With you_

Marie pulled two tickets from the envelope. They were first class return flights to Paris, the one place Marie had wanted to re-visit after she accompanied Nate there for Andy Green's tour. The flight was scheduled for later that night.

"Your bags are all packed. He's taking you there straight after the show." Eliza explained, as Jason had instructed her to.

_Girl you're not invisible_

_You're all that I can_

_See in the darkness_

_Believe we can make this_

_All we want it to be_

_We can_

_Stay here forever_

_Cause when we're together_

_Stuck in this fantasy_

_I don't wanna leave_

_Cause I could comb_

_Across the world_

_And see everything_

_And never be satisfied_

_If I couldn't see those eyes._

The lights went out, the crowd cheered louder than before and Jason pulled Marie into a passionate kiss. He hoped he had made her birthday all she had dreamed it would be.

After the encore was complete, they all gathered in their dressing room to say goodbye. Hugs were exchanged and Marie was passed her case and carry on, all carefully packed by the girls to include everything she would need.

"Be good." Eliza whispered into her sister's ear, teasingly. Marie promised she would behave before they all walked outside and waved the happy couple off.

"Do you think he'll do it?" Shane asked, knowing this trip was more than a holiday.

"He has everything he needs to do so." Eliza commented as she contemplated what the next few hours could mean to her. She would be one step closer to officially being Marie's sister.

"We joked about it on that first tour all those years ago and now it may be coming true." Caitlyn commented as she glanced down at the engagement ring that had been gracing her finger for six months now.

After years of calling each other family, a future was quickly arising in which it would be the truth.


End file.
